Cleveland Police said they are no longer looking for two men over the alleged attack in Redcar on Friday.
A spokeswoman said inquiries are ongoing into an allegation of rape involving people who may have been known to each other.
One man was arrested but later released without charge.
It had been reported that the woman aged in her 30s and her child were abducted by two men from Redcar seafront at lunchtime on Friday.
The force said the pair were driven about four miles to Longbeck Lane, near Yearby, where the woman was allegedly raped by both men.
A spokeswoman said: "Officers have established that the circumstances surrounding a report of rape are not as first reported."
Officers are still keen to speak to anyone who may have seen a woman with a toddler between the area of Roseberry Road and Larkswood Road in Redcar between 14:00 GMT and 18:00 - or anyone with private CCTV footage covering the area.
An allegation of a woman being bundled into a car and raped in front of her toddler is "not as first reported", police say.