Missing San Jose State Student Says She Fabricated Her Own Kidnapping
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- A San Jose State University student who was located in Oregon over the weekend told police on Tuesday that she fabricated getting carjacked at knifepoint by a stranger.
The San Jose Police Department states that they met with the 22-year-old San Jose State student who initially alleged that she was kidnapped at knifepoint from her apartment by a stranger and ended up in Oregon.
Police say she now recants the kidnapping allegations.
San Jose police said the victim told them on Tuesday that she fabricated the entire incident, including the description of a suspect.
The Bandon Police Department in Oregon first made contact with the student at 10:18 p.m. on Friday, after a citizen reported seeing her running, frightened, down a roadway in the vicinity of U.S. Highway 101 and Prosper Junction Road.
She told investigators that she'd been abducted roughly 10 hours earlier, carjacked and forced to drive north in her own vehicle until it ran out of gas, allowing her an opportunity to flee on foot and hide in tall grass nearby until nightfall.
Officers found the vehicle near an old mill at Ballard's Bridge and Highway 101 and searched the area for the suspect, with assistance from a K-9 unit. They were unable to track him, however, and towed the vehicle for evidence.
The victim was transported to a hospital in Coos Bay for facial injuries suffered when the suspect allegedly struck her.
The Coos County Women's Safety and Resource Center even provided an advocate for her and housed her until her family members arrived to bring her home over the weekend.
Coos County sheriff's deputies contacted police in the San Jose area and determined that the alleged victim had been reported missing by family members after she did not show up for her own college graduation ceremony.
San Jose State University police had launched an investigation based on their report.
The suspect was initially described as a mixed-race black and Hispanic man in his 30s who allegedly did not have facial hair and was wearing a black hoodie, black baseball hat and black winter-style gloves, according to the victim.
San Jose police said in a statement Tuesday, "The community is not at risk and no suspects are wanted in connection with this investigation."
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