N.J. teen admits to faking abduction

Kara Alongi, a New Jersey teenager, left, who launched an extensive search after she tweeted in September 2012 that she was being abducted admitted she made it all up and pleaded guilty Sept. 12, 2013 to creating a false public alarm and making false reports to law enforcement. Under the terms of a plea agreement, she was ordered to serve 40 hours of community service. She also was sentenced to a year of probation, a six-month suspension of her driver's license and was ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution. Alongi vanished Sept. 30, 2012 after posting a message on her Twitter account that alluded to an intruder in her house, police said. The message prompted the hashtag "helpfindkara" to trend on the social network, and caused some 6,000 calls to 911. The teen was found two days after she went missing at a New Jersey Turnpike rest stop in Penns Grove.

Alongi vanished Sept. 30, 2012 after posting a message on her Twitter account that alluded to an intruder in her house, police said. A screenshot of that tweet is pictured here. The message prompted the hashtag "helpfindkara" to trend on the social network, and caused some 6,000 calls to 911.

After the teen was found, Alongi told authorities that a man had come into her home and forced her to pack a bag and leave, investigators said. The teen also claimed she had no memory of the following 46 hours and that she woke up in a house surrounded by three men, including her alleged abductor, prosecutors said. A nine-month investigation revealed that Alongi left home on her own accord and was never in danger, prosecutors said. In the days following her disappearance, investigators discovered someone called for a taxi at Alongi's address at around the same time the message was posted. Police had also released a photo of Alongi at the Rahway train station, carrying a backpack, pictured on the left. Police said she bought a ticket to Penn Station. The teen spent time in New York, New Jersey and Maryland during the time she was missing, prosecutors said.

Kara Alongi in an undated photo.

Kara Alongi in an undated photo.