Police have decided not to press charges against two female youth for false accusations or false police reports.
A little before 7 p.m. on Oct. 20, Port Hardy RCMP responded to a report that two female youths were abducted at knifepoint by two males who were reportedly driving a blue vehicle near Coal Harbour.
According to Staff Sgt. Wes Olsen’s police report, the two youth were reportedly “pulled into the vehicle, blindfolded, tied up and had gags placed into their mouths.”
The report then stated that the two were driven to a different location in Coal Harbour and released unharmed. The youth also said they were released from the blue van near a payphone in the small community.
“The mother of one of the girls reported the matter to police who immediately responded,” reads the statement.
The North Island Gazette also received messages from a resident who stated, “this is an emergency … there was (an) abduction in Quatsino reserve yesterday.”
The Coal Harbour local also mentioned the vehicle was a blue van, but clarified in a follow-up message that it was an abduction attempt.
“Early on in the investigation, as police were gathering information, it became apparent that there were many inconsistencies in the girl’s version of events,” Olsen continued.
The police determined quite quickly that there was, in fact, never an abduction. “The girls had made up the story to avoid getting in trouble for visiting an area the should not have been at,” the statement read. Police concluded their investigation with one of the female youth “admitted the abduction was not true early on in the investigation.
At this time, police are not recommending charges to the youth for false police reports, though Olsen wants to emphasize it is still a criminal offence to do so.
One of the girls is under the age of 12 years and is not subject to sanction under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The other girl, who is over 12 years old, decided to tell the truth when police offered the opportunity so RCMP can avoid any further unnecessary investigation.
Port Hardy RCMP detachment commander Olsen emphasized that “this matter garnered local Social Media attention and police want to inform the community that this was not a valid incident.”
In Port Hardy RCMP’s second quarterly report this year, 47 false or abandoned 911 calls had occurred and police reports made.
