Momfluencer Convicted of Falsely Reporting an Attempted Abduction of Her Kids

Katie Sorensen is a momfluencer—a specific kind of influencer who monetizes her identity as a mother and creates content about this for social media. But one recent piece of content has landed her on the wrong side of the law: She was recently convicted of falsely claiming that a couple had attempted to kidnap her children in the parking lot of a Michaels craft supply store.

Sorensen, 31, hails from Petaluma, California. On December 7, 2020, she had been out shopping when she noticed two people in the store looking at her two kids, ages 4 and 1. She then called the police to report an attempted child abduction; they investigated and found no basis for the claim, so Sorensen took to social media.

“My children were the targets of attempted kidnap,” she announced in a two-part video on Instagram.

The video garnered more than 4 million views, leading to an interview with KTVU.  Sorensen claimed that the couple stood behind her in the checkout line even though they weren’t buying anything. In the parking lot, they took two steps toward her, then two steps back.

“There is no other explanation as to why they were doing that besides they were just building the courage,” she said.

Sorensen added so many new details during the video and the TV interview—including that the male had actually tried to grab her stroller—that the cops opened a new investigation one week after the incident.

This time, they had Sorensen review security camera footage, and she identified Sadie Vega-Martinez and her husband Eddie Martinez as the would-be perpetrators.

The Martinezes are parents of five. Eddie is a UPS delivery man, and Sa