12-Year-old Girl Arrested for Calling 911 and Making Bogus Abduction Claim

Police justify arrest based on the "abundance of resources" used to investigate

LEONARDTOWN, Md. (Sept. 11, 2016)—A 12-year-old female was arrested this afternoon for filing a false police report, claiming she was abducted. She hung up on 911 before providing her name or location. Police say they expended considerable resources to locate her, having no reason to disbelieve her claim of abduction at the time.

The St. Mary's County Emergency Communications Center received the 9-1-1 call from the girl at 4:43 p.m. Although she provided specific details on her abductor, she was unable to provide dispatchers with her location and disconnected the call.

Deputies were able to identify a possible location of the caller, which was in the area of Poplar Ridge Road in Lexington Park. Deputies responded to the area in search of the victim or any indication of a crime.

In an attempt to gain potential leads, a reverse 911 call was used for the surrounding area and additional neighborhood searches, interviews and attempts to locate witnesses were completed. Although there was very limited information, deputies developed a suspect, later identified as a 12-year-old female.

The investigation revealed the juvenile suspect made the call because she was upset with a guardian. The 12-year-old was located and placed under arrest for a false police report.

Police credit the cooperation of the community, especially the residents of the Lexington Manor neighborhood, with helping them solve the mystery.

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