Eleven-year-old girl charged with felony for reporting friend missing in YouTube challenge prank
A Florida girl was arrested after making a false report that her friend was kidnapped.
The 11-year-old girl, from Port Orange, Florida, texted 911 around 9.45am on Wednesday and falsely reported that her 14-year-old friend had been kidnapped by an armed man who was driving a white van, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
The 11-year-old said she was following the van in a blue Jeep. For the subsequent hour and a half, the girl texted updates to 911, which included a description of the suspect and that he had a gun.
Multiple deputies said they responded to the report to search for the suspect van but to no avail.
Ultimately, the officials tracked the girl’s cell phone, which led them to her home. Roughly 40 minutes after receiving the initial 911 text, officials arrived at the home and talked to the girl’s father, who said she was inside with her family, the sheriff’s office said.
As the police approached the 11-year-old, she was holding her cell phone, which was ringing. Volusia Sheriff’s Dispatch was on the other end of the call. The girl then told the police that she got the idea to prank 911 through a YouTube challenge and thought it “would be funny.”
Sheriff Mike Chitwood didn’t agree, saying: “This kind of prank activity is dangerous – we’re going to investigate every incident but today it wasted valuable resources that might have helped someone else who legitimately needed our help.”
The girl was charged with making a false police report concerning the use of a firearm in a violent manner, which is a felony. She was also charged with misuse of 911, which is a misdemeanour.
The sheriff’s office said the Port Orange girl was transported to the Family Resource Center for processing, before being transferred to the Volusia Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
In bodycam footage released by the sheriff’s office, a deputy is heard telling the girl, who is handcuffed and whose face is blurred: “This is going to be an opportunity for you to turn this into a learning experience. This is not something you’re going to carry with you for the rest of your life.”
This isn’t the first time that reports of fake abduction have circulated in recent weeks. The story of 25-year-old Carlee Russell made headlines after she mysteriously vanished for 49 hours, but then reappeared, explaining she had been kidnapped.
Alabama Police said on Wednesday that they “pretty much” knew Ms Russell’s abduction story was a hoax since she returned home.
