VIDEO: Woman Allegedly Faked Abduction to Hide Fact She Is College Dropout

A Pennsylvania woman stands accused of faking her own abduction to conceal the fact she is a college dropout.

Authorities arrested 23-year-old Chloe Stein on Tuesday, NBC News reported Friday.

Per court records, the young woman was charged with several misdemeanors including false alarm to a public safety agency, falsely reporting an offense that did not occur, obstructing administration of law, and disorderly conduct.

The last time she contacted anyone was late Monday after she messaged her boyfriend while on her way home from work, telling him an officer pulled her over. The young man tried to contact her again but was unable to reach her.

Once her abandoned vehicle was found and the family made a missing person declaration, authorities began their search. It was an effort that cost “tens of thousands” of dollars, according to State Police Trooper Steve Limani.

Continuing to follow the story about Chloe Stein, the 23 year old who @PAStatePolice say lied about her abduction.

Court documents say she told police she was blindfolded and held at gunpoint by a person in a mask.

Police say none of that happened. @WPXI pic.twitter.com/lLJiK2sl16

— Andrew Havranek 📺 (@Andrew_Havranek) May 3, 2023

Tuesday evening, officials learned Stein was at a residence in Jeannette. They went to the location and took her in for questioning.

She claimed she had been pulled over and abducted by a man pretending to be an officer with a gun. She also claimed she had been blindfolded and taken to multiple areas.

Prior to finding the young woman, Penn State University called officials and explained Stein was not enrolled at the school and had not been attending classes for over a year. However, graduation day was coming soon.

Police said they think Stein thought she had no choice because her loved ones were planning to celebrate, according to CBS Pittsburgh:

Limani called the fact the young woman was alive the “best outcome,” but “The decisions that were made I think are pretty rotten. And those decisions are also against the law.”

The young woman was reportedly last enrolled in late 2018 at Penn State Fayette. Meanwhile, when inconsistencies were found in her account regarding what happened, Stein “admitted that she had fabricated all of the information pertaining to the incident,” according to a criminal complaint.

It was possible the reason behind the apparent hoax was because she did not want to disappoint others, according to Limani.

“There has to be something wrong up here in order to go through all that,” one resident said of the news while pointing to his head:

Stein is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on May 25.