Police: Reported Teenage Abduction Was A Hoax
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – After an exhaustive search, police say the reported abduction of a teenage girl was all a hoax.
Pittsburgh Police, Penn Hills Police and the Allegheny County Sheriff's Department all responded to a report by a 14-year-old girl that she saw a man drag a another teenage girl into his white van.
Police say it was not something that she saw but misinterpreted, but rather, a story that was entirely made up. Lt. Kevin Kraus says it's not known why she would want to make the false report.
The incident was first reported to have happened just before 3 p.m. in the 8000-block of Frankstown Avenue, right on the border of Pittsburgh and Penn Hills.
It all began after a 14-year-old girl got off her school bus at Frankstown Avenue and East Hills Drive and reported that she saw a man grab a teenage girl who had gotten off another bus.
The girl was described as an African American female standing at five-feet-one-inch and weighing 120 pounds. She was reportedly wearing a pink shirt and black jacket.
But despite the hours of searching, police said there were no reports of a missing girl.
"All we have is one juvenile witness who reports another juvenile, possible abducted coming off a school bus," Pittsburgh Police Lt. Kevin Kraus said.
The father of the 14-year-old girl who said she witnessed the alleged abduction and called 911, Alan Ricketts, told KDKA-TV that his daughter saw the man put his hand over the girl's mouth as he dragged her into a white van.
"She (the alleged victim) tried to call my daughter to come up here and my daughter's feeling bad about that," Ricketts said.
Police will discuss with the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office as to whether the girl will face any charges for the hoax.
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