LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Police in Indiana have arrested a Lafayette woman after they say she falsely reported being abducted, sexually assaulted and held against her will in the woods.
The Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of 30-year-old Kallie C. Carlson of Lafayette on Friday. Carlson, TCSO said, now faces charges of false informing and obstruction of justice, a level 6 felony.
The sheriff’s office first interacted with Carlson on the afternoon of Feb. 19 when a female made a 911 call reporting that she had been bound by a man and held against her will in a wooded area in the 5500 block of State Road 26 East.
The woman on the phone, later identified as Carlson, told police she had been assaulted by the man.
TCSO said deputies responded to the wooded area and set up a perimeter. They deployed both K-9 units and drones to search for the suspect, but found no one.
Police said that after looking further into Carlson’s story, it didn’t add up.
Detectives from the sheriff’s office worked with the Lafayette Police Department to investigate the case. They used cellphone data, witness statements and surveillance video to determine the incident didn’t happen as reported.
“During the investigation, it was later determined the events were fabricated and had not occurred,” the sheriff’s office said on March 13.
A month after the office publicly said the abduction did not happen, Carlson has now been arrested for the alleged fabrication.
The office announced on Friday that an arrest warrant was issued for Carlson the day prior and that she was arrested in the 700 block of Wabash Avenue in Lafayette the same day.
Carlson, TCSO said, was then booked into Tippecanoe County Jail for obstruction of justice and false reporting and her bond was set for $5,000. She has since been released, the sheriff’s office said.