I think what she did is ashameful and she should be prosecuted, as there were hundreds of people wasting their time out looking for her. Of course she may be a grown adult and come and go as she pleases, but when there are law enforcement officials called in from surrounding towns and counties that are using their resources trying to find someone that was across the country, then that's wrong. There were hundreds of people out searching for her that were losing money from their job, there were numerous law enforcement officers out searching using their time for a runaway when they could of been out searching for a real missing person.
The local businesses had a cut in revenue as locals were worried to go out with the thought that there may be a serial killer or rapist out there on the loose. I saw a business owner from the town that talked on the news and said they lost business due to people being scared. It not only affected her family, but it affected the community as well. The city said they lost $40,000 - $60,000 on the search to find her, while she was traveling across the country on a Greyhound.
She lied to the police and said that she had been kidnapped by a hispanic male and a white female in their forties. They could of gone out and made an arrest to someone that was innocent due to her lie. Of course the lie didn't last long, but the fact is she still lied and made the police think their were abductors on the loose. Lying to law enforcement officials should be a felony in any state I think. We have rights as Americans, but the right we don't have is to lie to law enforcement and tell them fake stories.
There was a college girl up in Wisconsin that faked her own abduction as well and she's being prosecuted and now makes payments of $250 per month to the city for $9,000. They lost $100,000 searching for her. If these fools aren't prosecuted, then there will be more copycat fake abductions like these to get media attention if there's no consequences. They will think, "Heck they got away with it, so if I do it then I can too". Then before you know it, there will be case after case like this if there's nothing done to prosecute them as a crime.
I saw in the news conference they said if the District Attorney doesn't charge her, then the city will go after every option they have to recover the $40,000 - $60,000 they lost. If I was her fiance, I'd leave her as that's horrible what she put him through, her friends, family, neighbors, and locals. She stirred up the whole community over something so ignorant.
She had it planned a week ahead of time as she bought the ticket on the 19th and called before she went out jogging to have the taxi driver pick her up at the library at 9:00. The planning of this alone should be enough evidence to prosecute her and hopefully they will press charges.
She said she didn't know what she did wrong, what a joke! She told him that she was going to go jogging and would be back in 40 minutes, but doesn't show up for days. She actually thought no one would worry or go looking for her? What a wacko! :yell:
