Tardy student claims abduction, then recants
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia police say a 9-year-old girl who arrived late at her elementary school told administrators she had been abducted, but recanted the story when authorities arrived to investigate.
The Philadelphia Daily news reports the girl made the claim when she got to Lea Elementary School in west Philadelphia around 9 a.m. Thursday.
Capt. John Darby, who heads the police department’s special victims unit, says authorities responded and later determined the story to be unfounded after interviewing the girl and her parents. He wouldn’t elaborate on why the girl made up the story.
On Monday, a 5-year-old girl was kidnapped from a different Philadelphia elementary school by a woman claiming to be her mother. The girl was later found unhurt and police are searching for suspects in that case.