A Pasadena woman was arrested Wednesday for allegedly pretending to be a kidnap victim and sending a photo of herself bound and gagged in order to extort money from her parents. Police said the father sent $85,000 as ransom money.

Officers found the woman uninjured and by herself at a local motel early Wednesday morning.

“She admitted she took the picture in order to extort the family,” Pasadena police Lt. Pete Hettema said. “It’s unclear why she needed the money.”

He said the mother called Pasadena police at 12:08 a.m. and reported that her daughter, a student at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, had been kidnapped on Tuesday.

The daughter had spoken to the family and told them she was safe but needed the money sent, according to Hettema. He said the family had been sent a photo showing the woman bound and gagged in a hotel room.

Hettema said the father, who lives in China, paid about $85,000 in ransom.

Officers went to the 900 block of South Raymond Avenue which Hettema said is one of the campuses. He didn’t say how officers tracked down the woman at a motel on Colorado Boulevard.

Police found her alone at the motel around 2 a.m.

Yimei Wang, 20, of Pasadena was arrested on suspicion of extortion and was booked at the Pasadena police jail. She later posted bond and was released.

The booking records do not show when she’s scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment.