PA - Chloe Elizabeth Stein, 23, charged with faking own abduction, Hempfield Twp, 1 May 2023

[JennieM]

This link had multiple videos, all of them ads. Do you have one that has any actual news footage?

Sorry the link hasn't worked for you. The link works when I click it, there's a video right at the top of the article that starts playing automatically.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

Just read about this case. Horrible. The resources/time/money spent searching for this women due to thinking that she was in danger, etc. were obviously substantial. And, the deception here (by her) was appalling. She caused completely unnecessary worry/concern for her family & for the authorities.

It's people like this that take away time/attention/resources/money from legitimate missing persons cases. IMHO, this is almost as bad as the SP case in CA.

I agree that due to her alleged college graduation coming up, she got stressed out/overwhelmed due to her having dropped out & not having told her family. However, that's on her. She should have dealt with this herself, instead of committing fraud & negatively affecting her entire community like this.

She definitely needs to be held responsible for all costs involved and might even need to spend some time in jail to think about what she did. This is a completely unacceptable cry for attention that doesn't need to become the norm.

Agreed!

 

[swanniee11]

Just to add, she also texted her BF that she was getting pulled over by police then went missing. Was she trying to blame LE?

 

[mickey2942]

Sherri Papini vibes…

This story also reminded me of Mark Hacking, who killed his pregnant wife, when she found out that he had not been accepted to medical school. He had lived a lie for years, pretending to go to college, graduating...

In a way, I am glad that this young woman is safe, and didn't attempt suicide. Unfortunately, she has created a lot of drama for herself, and her family. She obviously needs mental health care and treatment to be able to manage the mess she has created for herself.

 

[flowermama]

Runaway bride vibes…. Remember that?

 

[Laughing]

She was probably thinking " I'm supposed to graduate next weekend, how am I supposed to get out of that, oh wait, lets make a big commotion and take the heat off of me, lets feel bad for me" IMO

Didn't we have a couple of these last year? A young lady in Michigan?

Wonder if colleges could do more to support struggling students? Of course the struggling student needs to accept support....

 

[chimpface]

As soon as I read she was set to graduate this weekend my mind went to the exact situation she's found herself in.

 

[ch_13]

I wonder what her ultimate plan was. Did she think that after a couple of days she'd be able to show up again and claim she'd escaped her kidnapper with no one the wiser?

Was this whole ruse just to get out of going to graduation ceremonies so her family would never discover she dropped out?

 

[ifindedout]

dbm

 

[TravelingBug]

Didn't we have a couple of these last year? A young lady in Michigan?

Wonder if colleges could do more to support struggling students? Of course the struggling student needs to accept support....

And Tanner Hoang in Texas in December, though with the ending I feared we'd see in this one. It was also within days of graduation and his family was all in town only to find out he'd been unenrolled for a period of time and wasn't graduating.

Hoping Chloe gets the help she very obviously needs.

 

[ifindedout]

Docket sheet: https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/CaseSearch
Magisterial District Judge 10-1-01
Criminal Docket
Docket No. MJ-10101-CR-0000134-2023
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Chloe Elizabeth Stein
Charges and grades:

• FALSE ALARM TO AGENCY OF PUBLIC SAFETY (M1)
• FALSE REPORTS - REPORTED OFFENSE DID NOT OCCUR (M3)
• OBSTRUCT ADMIN LAW/OTHER GOVT FUNC (M1)
• DISORDER CONDUCT HAZARDOUS/PHYSI OFF (M3)

Bail: $25,000 unsecured

Preliminary arraignment: 5/3/2023 10:00 am (scheduled)
Preliminary hearing: 5/11/2023 8:30 am (continued)
Preliminary hearing: 5/25/2023 8:30 am (scheduled)

 

[Curiousobserver]

I don't think there was a plan- this seems like she panicked about graduation.

I am glad she is OK and after whatever the courts decide to do with her she can put this behind her (alive and well). Many subjects of this forum don't get second chances.

 

[airportwoman]

OK, now what was she doing in that 1 1/2 year period?

Besides (allegedly) working at Sonic?

Not that there's anything wrong with working there, even though I would not consider what they sell to be food; it's an honest paycheck.

 

[Veronica Sawyer]

Sherri Papini vibes…

with a dash of Chandler Halderson

 

[caradana]

And Tanner Hoang in Texas in December, though with the ending I feared we'd see in this one. It was also within days of graduation and his family was all in town only to find out he'd been unenrolled for a period of time and wasn't graduating.

Hoping Chloe gets the help she very obviously needs.

Agree, I thought Tanner Hoang right away with this case and am glad it has a better outcome.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

this young woman's missing case will get a lot of attention. I hope she is found safe and I wish more cases of missing women will get the same coverage this one will if she is not located soon.

This is the first I'm hearing of it. Hoping for a good outcome.

 

[airportwoman]

This is the first I'm hearing of it. Hoping for a good outcome.

She was found, safe, and the "disappearance" was a hoax, most likely because she has been lying to her friends and family about some very big things, and has been for a long time.

 

[LordMo]

I wonder what her ultimate plan was. Did she think that after a couple of days she'd be able to show up again and claim she'd escaped her kidnapper with no one the wiser?

Was this whole ruse just to get out of going to graduation ceremonies so her family would never discover she dropped out?

probably no plan. She probably went to a lot of bad places, mentally, to avoid feeling like she'd be "punished" for being a failure and just ran from spot to spot until she was finally stuck in a corner.

I've not been the most mentally-healthy or college-graduated person in my life, so I can imagine where she might be coming from.

I feel bad for her, but also, yes, I agree, there does need to be some degree of accountability for such a terrifying and expensive hoax.

 

[elevatorific]

I’m probably being too charitable, as I tend to be, but I don’t really see the “hoax” here.

She lied to her boyfriend (not a crime), lied to her family (not a crime), went incommunicado for less than 24 hours (not a crime). She lied to police under questioning when she probably should have said nothing, which I guess is a crime, but it just seems like a young person who did something stupid that got blown out of proportion.

Sure, it’s annoying and wasteful, but I truly hope it can be resolved without causing her more harm than she’s already done to herself.

 

[Springrain]

I’m probably being too charitable, as I tend to be, but I don’t really see the “hoax” here.

She lied to her boyfriend (not a crime), lied to her family (not a crime), went incommunicado for less than 24 hours (not a crime). She lied to police under questioning when she probably should have said nothing, which I guess is a crime, but it just seems like a young person who did something stupid that got blown out of proportion.

Sure, it’s annoying and wasteful, but I truly hope it can be resolved without causing her more harm than she’s already done to herself.

I would assume the "hoax" terminology comes into play because she essentially staged a kidnapping with an imposter cop and wasted a lot of LE resources/incited community panic, fearing for her life, etc.
I do have empathy for her though. I think she needs serious help and I don't think she's a complete monster by any means. However, she really, really screwed up here.

There is definitely legal repercussions to lying to cops, and I imagine there is no way there wouldn't be repercussions for what she did overall even besides that. But I hope the main priority is helping her find resources that can help her get it together, so to speak. Maybe in a year she can actually graduate college if she gets the help she needs if that is the path she wants to take.