23-year-old woman’s disappearance was a hoax, PA cops say. ‘The community was scared’
A manhunt for a 23-year-old woman reported missing ended with her being found safe, but now Pennsylvania authorities say her disappearance was a hoax.
Chloe Stein was located safely at an acquaintance’s home Tuesday, May 2, one night after she had last been seen, Pennsylvania State Police said.
At 10:30 p.m. Monday, Stein left a Sonic restaurant in Hempfield Township where she works, Trooper Steve Limani said in a news briefing streamed by a KDKA reporter. On her drive home, she texted her boyfriend to say she was being pulled over, according to state police.
When her Volkswagen Beetle was found abandoned along the road, Stein was reported as missing by a family member, according to state police.
Limani said in a news briefing posted by Neighborhood Crime Watch that police spent tens of thousands of dollars in their search for Stein, which ended with her being found “alive and well” at a home in Jeannette, troopers said.
Stein, according to state police, was never in any danger. Troopers received a tip she was at the home in Jeannette, a neighboring town of Hempfield Township.
State police said Stein was not pulled over. She ditched her car and walked 3 or 4 miles to stay at the acquaintance’s home for nearly a full day, WPXI reported.
“She was at a residence. She knew people were looking for her,” Limani said. “She knew that the way she described the event ... would cause alarm.”
Before Stein was found, workers at the college where Stein said she attended called state police. They said she had not been attending college for nearly two years, according to Limani.
Stein had claimed she was supposed to be graduating from Penn State University this weekend, according to WTAE.
Limani said Stein “maybe disappointing people” about her not attending college was the reasoning behind her hoax disappearance.
“You can’t wrap your head around some people’s decisions,” said Limani. “I think the thing that was the most alarming was that the rest of the community was scared, and the rest of the community was concerned.”
Stein was arrested and charged with “misdemeanor charges of making false reports, false alarm to agencies of public safety, obstruction of the administration of law and disorderly conduct,” according to the Tribune-Review.
Hempfield Township is about 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.
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