Local News in Brief : False Report Alleged

A Carson-area man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of falsely reporting to sheriff’s deputies that his young niece was missing, spurring an extensive door-to-door search when the young girl was actually with her father, officials said.

Michael Fogarty, 19, was being held on $500 bail after deputies learned that his niece, Christy Marie Drake, 8, was not missing, Deputy Roger Hom said.

Fogarty told investigators he had last seen the girl at 11 p.m. Monday when he put her to bed in his trailer at the Normandie Mobile Home Park in an unincorporated area near Carson, Deputy Van Mosely said.

He told deputies he awoke 90 minutes later and she was missing, spurring a door-to-door search with assistance from canine units and a helicopter Tuesday morning, Hom said.