Woman lied about being kidnapped in Fort Worth suburb, went to bars, police say
Detectives have determined that a woman was never abducted from a Forest Hill gym as she claimed earlier in the week.
Through surveillance video and other evidence, investigators found out the 23-year-old woman left Planet Fitness on her own, picked up a friend and then visited several Fort Worth bars, where she remained until closing.
“It is clear at this time that the complainant was not abducted as originally alleged,” said Forest Hill police Capt. Chris Stokes in a Friday news release. “As such, there are no suspects at large, and no ongoing threat to the community related to this incident.”
Stokes said investigation into the incident continued on Friday.
Forest Hill police have not released any information on whether the woman will face a charge of making a false report.
“We are not prepared to make any further statement at this time,” Stokes said in a Friday email.
The 23-year-old woman told authorities that she was kidnapped Sunday night from outside the Planet Fitness in Forest Hill by men who were waiting for her when she got into her car.
Police received the first account of the alleged crime about 2:45 a.m. Monday from relatives of the woman who had been in touch with her.
The woman reported that she was leaving the gym about 7:30 p.m. Sunday when two or more men abducted her, placed her in the trunk of a car and drove away, police said. She said one of the suspects drove her car.
Troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety found the woman in Brock about 9 a.m. on Monday and took her to a local hospital. Detectives had been zeroing in on the woman’s location when she called police and said she drove away from her abductors in her vehicle and that they were following her, police have said. Detectives directed the woman to a location where she was met by officers.
Detectives later determined that the woman was at Planet Fitness for about five minutes before she left alone and drove to a residence where she picked up a friend.
They stopped at a convenience store in Fort Worth, and then they went to the bars, Forest Hill police said.
This story was originally published August 14, 2020 at 1:37 PM.
