PORT HARDY, B.C- The police in Port Hardy have cleared up a child abduction rumour from Coal Harbour.
According to a news release from the detachment, the alleged incident took place on October 20 around 6:40 p.m.
Officers received a report that two young girls had been abducted at knife point by two men operating a blue van in Coal Harbour.
“The two youth were reportedly pulled into the vehicle, blindfolded, tied up and had gags placed into their mouths,” read the release.
“They were then reportedly driven to another location in Coal Harbour and released unharmed near a pay phone. The mother of one of the girls reported the matter to police who immediately responded.”
As officers launched their investigation, they soon found many inconsistencies in the girl’s story.
“Members were able to ascertain quite quickly in the investigative process that there never was an abduction and the girls had made up the story to avoid getting in trouble for visiting an area they should not have been at,” read the release.
“Although it is a criminal offence to lie to police and have them enter an investigation knowing it to be false, police are not pursuing criminal charges in this matter.”
One of the girls is under the age of 12, and not subject to sanctions under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The other girl, though over the age of 12, admitted the abduction was not true early in the investigation when police gave the opportunity “to tell the truth.”
“This matter garnered local social media attention,” read the release.
“Police want to inform the community that this was not a valid incident.”
