Teenagers playing a prank caused consternation among several witnesses, who reported to police they saw a man being beaten and kidnapped Friday afternoon.

A woman called from the 2300 block of San Jacinto Boulevard about 5:25 p.m., saying she saw four men trying to close the trunk of a car, which kept popping back up. She realized there was a man in the trunk, she said, and he was kicking the trunk open.

Finally the men succeeded in getting the trunk latched and drove to the Interstate 35E service road. Then the lip popped open again. One of the men left the car with a piece of pipe and struck the man in the trunk several times, she said. Then he shut the lid, climbed back in and the car took off again. She followed, but lost the car moments later.

Officers searched for the car. They found one that seemed to match the description but quickly determined that car wasn’t involved in the incident, according to the report.

One officer found a second witness who said he saw four men push another man into the trunk of their car. He gave a more detailed description of the suspects’ car.

A third witness then called 911. He wrote down a license number for the car when he saw what he thought was a kidnapping.

Officers drove to the address and spoke with people who lived there. They said they were playing a prank on a friend and that there had been no kidnapping and no one was injured.

Other reports

700 block of South Interstate 35E — Two couples came into a restaurant about 10:30 p.m. and ordered food and drinks. They ate and then asked for a to-go box. While the waitress was getting the box, the four left the restaurant without paying the $72 bill for the food.

Another customer noticed what was happening and followed them out of the restaurant. He wrote down the license number of the car and gave it to police. An investigation is continuing.

26000 block of U.S. Highway 380, Aubrey area — A restaurant owner reported to sheriff’s deputies that someone stole an inflatable bounce house from an unlocked storage building behind the restaurant sometime between Nov. 11 and Saturday. This is the second bounce house that has been stolen from the restaurant, according to the sheriff’s report.

Roundup

From 7 a.m. Friday to 7 a.m. Monday:

• Denton police responded to 801 service and officer-initiated calls, including one reported kidnapping, two assaults, three reports of criminal mischief, one report of suspicious activity, one theft of service, one runaway, three reports of harassment, one case of possession of marijuana, one burglary, one assault, one vehicle burglary, one burglary of a coin-operated machine and one theft.

• Denton County sheriff’s dispatchers handled 698 service and officer-initiated calls for the agencies they serve. A total of 113 people were booked into county jail. Deputies took reports of one deceased person, two assaults, one accident with burns, one suicidal person, one report of a prohibited substance in a correctional facility, four burglaries, one criminal mischief, one theft and one forgery.

• Denton firefighters responded to 52 medical calls, four traffic accidents, one alarm, one hazardous-materials incident, two smoke investigations, one false call, one grassfire, one request to assist police, one request to assist an invalid, one person dead on the scene and one cooking fire.

Lake Cities firefighters responded to 10 medical calls, two alarms, two traffic accidents, one odor investigation and one grassfire.

Krum firefighters responded to five medical calls.

Aubrey firefighters responded to one request to unlock a vehicle, four medical calls, one request to assist a citizen, one traffic accident and one gunshot wound.

Argyle firefighters responded to one request to unlock a vehicle, two alarms, one vehicle fire, one medical call, three accidents and one structure fire.

Sanger firefighters responded to four medical calls, one vehicle fire and one illegal burn.

Ponder firefighters responded to two medical calls.

Pilot Point firefighters responded to two medical calls and one request to unlock a vehicle.

Double Oak firefighters responded to two medical calls.

Oak Point firefighters responded to one request to assist a citizen, one electrical fire and one medical call.

DONNA FIELDER can be reached at 940-566-6885. Her e-mail address is dfielder@dentonrc.com

Denton County Crime Stoppers will pay a reward of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest in these or other crimes. Callers will remain anonymous. Call 1-800-388-TIPS (8477). Reach the Denton police narcotics tip line at 940-565-5801.