A 23-year-old Pennsylvania woman allegedly concocted an elaborate abduction hoax and lied that she was pulled over by police – all to cover up the fact that she was not going to be graduating from college.
Chloe Stein, of Jeannette, was reported missing after she vanished from a Sonic restaurant, where she works in Hempfield, at about 10:35 p.m. Monday, WTAE reported.
She texted her boyfriend that night that she was pulled over by police while driving along a desolate stretch of road in the township and then went missing for the next 20 hours.
Police issued a Missing Endangered Person Advisory and launched a search for the woman.
State Trooper Steve Limani said police received a tip about 8 p.m. Tuesday that Stein was safe at a local acquaintance’s home.
She was taken in for questioning, during which it became clear she had abandoned her Volkswagen Beetle, with her cell phone inside, about a mile from the Sonic and walked three miles to the home.
Stein told police she had been abducted at gunpoint by a masked man and was eventually released near her home — but later admitted she made the whole story up, WTAE reported, citing court documents.
“She was released after being held at gunpoint and semi-assaulted, we’ll call it, and bound,” Limani told CBS News about the tall tale.
“So then she was released and dropped off near an alleyway near her home. Of course, ’cause that’s what someone would do,” he added, sarcastically.
Stein faces a slew of charges, including false alarm to the agency of public safety, false reports, disorderly conduct and obstruction of the administration of law and other government functions.
Her family believed Stein was set to graduate from Penn State Greater Allegheny, but a university official told police she had not been there for more than a year and a half.
“The situation at college was a driving force, probably the number one driving force for the whole scenario,” Limani told WTAE.
“The fact that she hadn’t been in college for almost two years — her circle had believed she was graduating in a matter of two or three days,” he said.
Stein’s boyfriend and his two pals reportedly found her abandoned VW along Radebaugh Road underneath a bridge carrying Toll Route 66.
Limani said the search cost “tens of thousands of dollars” in manpower and equipment.
“There was never any police stop. There was never any pullover. None of that happened,” the lieutenant said, adding that Stein “recklessly endangered the lives of others,” and scared her family and friends, Trib Live reported.
“We were concerned before that we had a criminal investigation that may possibly be whatever you want to call it, kidnapping, some type of assault, who knows what it could’ve been, so we went from investigating that type of potential crime to now we are trying to investigate what is this type of crime, when you are risking inconvenience, alarm, alarming a community,” he told WTAE
“I don’t want to miss the point of — at least she’s safe,” Limani added.
Stein made no comment when she left the Westmoreland County jail on Wednesday. She is due back in court on May 25 for a preliminary hearing.
“My client and her family are grateful for the support and kindness of all concerning recent events, and to that end respectfully requests privacy at this time,” he attorney Phil DiLucente said in a statement.
He told USA Today that he hopes the case won’t go to trial, saying the allegations are “completely out of character” for her.
“She’s a very, very hard-working young lady, she’s very well-educated, she was top of her class in high school, she’s very personable,” DiLucente told the outlet.
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