BALDWIN PARK — A search for a kidnapper was called off Thursday after a group of elementary school students admitted making up a story of seeing a girl abducted, officials said.

The incident began about 10:40 a.m. when three 5- to 6-year-old students at Margaret Heath Elementary School, 14321 School Street, told officials they saw a man grab a young girl from the campus, put a bag over her head and run away with her, Baldwin Park police Capt. Michael Taylor said.

Police responded to the school in force, ordering a campus lockdown and setting up a search perimeter in the neighborhood around the school, the captain said.

As the investigation continued, “We took a head count of all students and found everyone was accounted for,” Taylor said.

Police then re-interviewed the students who reported the kidnapping, and they admitted making up the story, he said. The motive for the false kidnapping story was unclear.

The lockdown was lifted about an hour after it began.