A Rio Grande City mother is accused of lying to police and filing a false missing person report on her own daughter.

The Rio Grande City Police Department said what started as a high-priority missing person case quickly took a different turn.

They said Sandra Garcia reported her daughter missing late last month, claiming she had not seen her since June 19.

But as detectives investigated, they said they learned Garcia's daughter had been in contact with her mother the entire time—even asking her to stop reporting her as missing.

Investigators also said Garcia created a GoFundMe page claiming she was homeless. About $800 was reportedly raised while the missing person investigation was underway.

Police said a week later, Garcia's daughter walked into the police department. She told officers she was safe and that the missing person report was false.

Rio Grande City Police Chief Jose Solis says false reports like this take time and resources away from families who are desperately searching for loved ones.

"She used her daughter to try to gain financial income out of it, and it's very unfortunate because there are people actually going through this, that they can't find their loved ones, and as an agency, we're not going to allow this one incident to dictate how we investigate missing person's cases," Solis said.

Garcia was arrested Tuesday. She is charged with filing a false report to a police officer. She has since been released on bond.

The police chief is also urging the public to verify online fundraisers before donating.

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