An 11-year-old girl from Florida is facing charges for falsely reporting her friend's kidnapping, telling authorities she thought it "would be funny," according to the Volusia Sheriff's Office. Deputies said the girl texted 911 around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday (July 26) about her 14-year-old friend getting abducted by an armed man driving a white van on I-95 in Oak Hill.
She also told dispatchers she was following the suspected vehicle in a blue Jeep, texting updates for an hour and a half including a description of the male suspect.
Officials claim multiple officers from various law enforcement agencies responded to look for the van, but they didn't find anything. Eventually, deputies were directed by "investigative means" to a Port Orange home by tracking the girl's cell phone.
Deputies pulled up to the home and spoke with the 11-year-old's father, who told cops his daughter was inside the house with the family. When the girl walked out, her cell phone was ringing with a call from the Volusia Sheriff's Dispatch. Deputies then confirmed they were on the scene.
Body camera footage then shows several deputies surrounding the girl as she's handcuffed in front of her home. Deputies told her to take this as "a learning lesson."
“I’m not going to do this again," she said in the video. The girl told authorities she did this as a prank and was inspired by a YouTube challenge.
“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," Sheriff Mike Chitwood said.
The sheriff's office also reminded parents to monitor their children's social media use.