2 kidnapping attempts in 2 days by 2 different women have police scrambling

LAPD detectives are looking for a woman suspected in the attempted kidnapping of a 4-year-old boy in South Los Angeles after a similar brazen child abduction was tried the day before.

Police have identified the woman as Dominique Del Villar, 28, a downtown L.A. transient with a history of mental illness. They say she approached a boy around 11:15 a.m. Wednesday near Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and San Pedro Street, grabbed his hand and tried to walk away with him.

The boy was walking with a family member when the attempted kidnapping occurred, police said. The woman was stopped by someone on the street and ran off.

Authorities released video of the incident and described her as about 5-foot-7 and weighing 180 to 200 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone who sees her should call 911, police said.

Police initially thought Wednesday’s abduction attempt could be related to an attempted kidnapping the day before in Pico-Union, but they later determined that different women were involved.

Maralyn Ramos, 33, of Tucson, was arrested Wednesday in connection with the attempted kidnapping of a 4-year-old boy from a Pico-Union McDonald’s.

In surveillance video released by police, a woman police identified as Ramos is seen Tuesday afternoon entering a McDonald’s on East Olympic Boulevard, picking up a young child who was standing by himself near a table and carrying the boy out of the restaurant. After exiting, Ramos tried to get into a parked car with the boy, but was stopped by a witness. She ran off, leaving the child, authorities said.

Ramos was charged by prosecutors Friday with kidnapping and grand theft auto, as the car she was found in had been stolen.

javier.panzar@latimes.com

Twitter: @jpanzar