APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – Appleton Police say they are on rumor patrol after a viral Facebook post about an abduction attempt turned out to be a hoax.
According to the Appleton Police Department the Facebook post was shared nearly 8,000 times in about a day.
A woman claimed she was approached by another woman at the Darboy Walmart in an abduction attempt.
In the post, the woman claimed an off duty police officer from Milwaukee prevented the abduction.
She also claimed she reported the incident to local police.
According to Appleton Police Sgt Dave Lund there was no such report.
“A lot of people did the right thing and turned to us and asked us if this was a legitimate story”
So police tracked down the woman who made the post and brought her to the station for an interview.
“They did admit that they did fabricate the story, that they really underestimated the power of social media,
Lund says the woman did not technically do anything illegal…..so she won’t face any punishment.
However, he said it was important to get the to the bottom of the story and tell people the truth.
“We don’t want to scare people. We don’t want to legitimize stories that people have made up”
So, Lund says if you see a post like this to check with police before sharing any possibly false information.
“When in doubt give us a call or send us a message on our social media and we’ll try to track that down”.
