By Hannah W. Wever

Published: May 8, 2008

An eighth grader’s account of nearly been kidnapped by a stranger last week resulted in an exhaustive search and a frightened community. But according to Orange County Sheriff Mark Amos, the assault never took place, and the girl’s story was made up.
Wednesday’s made-up incident caused a lock down at all county schools and brought about a Code Red at Prospect Heights Middle School. Dozens of law enforcement officers from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Police and police officers from the Town of Orange and the Town of Gordonsville converged at Prospect Heights Middle School last Wednesday, searching for a suspect who according to a student, tried to drag her from the building.
“Prospect Heights Middle School was placed in a Code Red lockdown as a result of a suspicious person on school property. The police were immediately notified and all the schools across the county went into a modified lockdown,” Orange County Public Schools Coordinator of Community Partnerships and Public Outreach Ann Bledsoe said.
As a precautionary measure, she added, the Taylor Administrative Complex next door was placed on modified lock-down, as were all other Orange County schools
At 11:30 a.m. on April 30 an eighth-grader at Prospect Heights reported that she had been grabbed on the arm by a stranger, who attempted to drag her from the building, Orange County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Tim Murphy said.
According to the girl’s account, Murphy said, “She broke free and ran to the nearest office. Meanwhile, the suspect exited the building.”
After the school was placed on Code Red, locked-down status, the school’s resource officer was joined within minutes by officers and deputies from the sheriff’s office and other nearby law enforcement agencies. Murphy said while one group of officers searched the interior of the building, another group established a perimeter on the exterior; both began searching for the would-be kidnapper.
The middle-schooler gave police identifying details of her alleged attacker, and the sheriff’s office subsequently released a composite sketch of the imaginary man she described. The suspect was not located in or near the school, and the search—which included a canine officer—was extended to nearby neighborhoods, Murphy added.
Police were unable to locate the man, and later they learned the girl’s story was false—there was no suspect, and there had been no attack, Amos said.
“The law enforcement officers who were working the case, after interviewing several people—and the victim—determined that she’d made it up,” Amos explained.
Most disconcerting, he said, was that the entire community was led to believe there was a dangerous would-be kidnapper running around. The girl’s prank, he said, resulted in a great deal of wasted staff hours and resources, and there will be consequences.
“She’s in a little bit of trouble,” Amos said. “We will be confirming with the commonwealth’s attorney what the charges will be.”
Orange County Commonwealth’s Attorney Diana Wheeler said the girl’s case is now being handled by a juvenile intake officer. Any punishment she receives will be determined by a judge.
“There are any number of options which are left up to a judge,” Wheeler said. The precise charges have not been determined yet, she added, but the girl could face a charge of making a false report as to the commission of a crime.
“In the past, when there have been false fire alarms, or bomb threats, there have been penalties assessed,” Wheeler said. The girl and her family may receive a bill from the Commonwealth for the emergency resources that were wasted during the hoax.
Town of Orange Police Chief James Fenwick said four of his officers responded to the Code Red call at Prospect Heights last week. Those four officers, he said, while searching for a make-believe assailant, were unavailable to respond to genuine calls.
“The most important thing to me,” the chief said, “was the possibility of denying service for other calls due to the serious nature of this call and the potential risk to the officers and public of having officers responding “code” to the scene.”
Fenwick said the sheriff’s office dedicated even more valuable resources to the imaginary assault and resulting search, “including calling out K-9 officers and tactical team members.”
Bledsoe said the Orange County school community learned Monday morning from law enforcement that last week’s scare was made up. “Once the sheriff’s department notified us, we sent a release out to all staff,” she said.
In hindsight, staff, faculty and students handled the lock downs admirably, she added.
“School administration was very pleased at how smoothly the students and staff followed lock down procedures.  The students and staff at Prospect should be commended on how well they followed the procedures.  As well, all of the other County schools did a good job with modified lock down procedures.  Also, the School Resource Officer, the Sheriff’s Dept., and the Police Dept. did an excellent job of quickly responding to the school and ensuring the safety of the students and staff.