A woman accused in a 2024 attempted kidnapping in Santa Monica was reported missing by her family nearly two months ago, police confirmed to NBC Los Angeles on Thursday.
Courtney Perrone, 41, was reportedly last seen near Exposition Park — not far from USC’s campus — around 10:30 p.m. on May 17, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Police say Perrone “left the location in her white 2014 BMW and has not been seen or heard from since.” Shortly after her disappearance, her vehicle was located, abandoned and stripped, near Highway 138 in Littlerock, California.
She is described as an approximately 5-foot-4, 105-pound woman with black hair and hazel eyes. The LAPD said she also has several distinctive tattoos, including a scorpion on her left forearm, the words “Comfortably Numb” on her left arm and a cross on her calf.
Perrone was arrested and faces several charges related to an alleged attempted kidnapping of an 8-year-old girl in Santa Monica on Aug. 21, 2024.
According to Santa Monica police, the child was in the 800 block of the alley south of Maple Street helping her adult neighbor put several pets in a vehicle when Perrone came up to them and identified herself as a Russian police officer. Perrone then threatened to take the child, police said.
“Perrone knelt and put her arms around the child and a tug of war between the neighbor and Perrone ensued,” the SMPD said. “The neighbor put the child in the front seat of his vehicle and told Perrone to leave.”
Perrone tried to open the car’s door and even threatened the neighbor with a switchblade knife, according to police.
The SMPD said Perrone was homeless at the time and was living out of the white BMW. She has prior out-of-state arrests for assault and battery, according to police department.
The criminal case against Perrone related to the alleged 2024 kidnapping attempt was placed on diversion in February 2025.
She remains scheduled to appear in court for a status conference ahead of a preliminary hearing on Feb. 19, 2027.
The LAPD says that Perrone may be in need of medical attention, and the circumstances of her disappearance place her at risk.