Chloe Stein’s fake kidnapping was a hoax the 23-year-old from Jeannette, Pennsylvania staged in May 2023 to hide from her family that she had dropped out of Penn State years earlier, even as they believed she was days from graduating. After a search that cost tens of thousands of dollars, she confessed and was charged with four misdemeanors in Westmoreland County, with a tentative deal to enter a first-offender probation program and repay roughly $11,500 to the agencies that looked for her.
How the Hoax Unfolded
Stein left her job at a Sonic restaurant in Hempfield Township around 10:30 p.m. on Monday, May 1, 2023.1WTAE. Hempfield Township Missing Woman State Police Volkswagen Shortly after, she texted her boyfriend that she was being pulled over by a police officer. No traffic stop happened.2CBS News Pittsburgh. Chloe Stein Missing Car Found Greensburg State Trooper Steve Limani later said she crafted the message to “cause alarm.”3NBC News. Woman Charged Faking Abduction to Hide Fact She Dropped Out of College
Her Volkswagen Beetle turned up abandoned on Radebaugh Road beneath Route 66 in Greensburg. Pennsylvania State Police ran a six- to seven-hour search with K-9 units and a helicopter in poor weather, an operation Limani said cost “tens of thousands of dollars” and put first responders at risk.1WTAE. Hempfield Township Missing Woman State Police Volkswagen3NBC News. Woman Charged Faking Abduction to Hide Fact She Dropped Out of College
A tip led officers to a Jeannette residence on the evening of May 2, where they found Stein safe at an acquaintance’s home. She had walked roughly three miles from her abandoned car.1WTAE. Hempfield Township Missing Woman State Police Volkswagen Her first account to police was that a man posing as an officer had abducted her at gunpoint, blindfolded her, driven her to several locations, and released her near her home. Confronted with inconsistencies, she “admitted that she had fabricated all of the information pertaining to the incident,” according to the criminal complaint.3NBC News. Woman Charged Faking Abduction to Hide Fact She Dropped Out of College
Why She Did It
Stein’s family and friends believed she was a senior at Penn State Greater Allegheny about to graduate. University officials told state police during the investigation that she had not been enrolled at any Penn State campus since the fall 2018 semester.4WPXI. Pennsylvania State Police Searching for Missing Woman
Limani pointed to that gap as the reason for the hoax. “The fact of not going to school apparently for so long and maybe disappointing people was the reasoning behind it,” he told reporters, calling the college situation “probably the number one driving force for the whole scenario.”5USA Today. Chloe Stein Abduction Hoax Pennsylvania
The Charges
Westmoreland County prosecutors filed four misdemeanor counts against Stein:
- False alarm to an agency of public safety under 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4905, a first-degree misdemeanor.6New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4905 – False Alarms to Agencies of Public Safety
- Falsely reporting an offense that did not occur under 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4906, a third-degree misdemeanor.7New York Codes, Rules and Regulations. 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 4906 – False Reports
- Obstruction of the administration of law and other government functions.
- Disorderly conduct.
Under Pennsylvania sentencing law, a first-degree misdemeanor carries up to five years in prison, and a third-degree misdemeanor carries up to one year and a fine of up to $2,500.8Pennsylvania General Assembly. Title 18, Chapter 11 – Authorized Disposition of Offenders Stein was arraigned and released from the Westmoreland County Jail on the morning of May 3, 2023.1WTAE. Hempfield Township Missing Woman State Police Volkswagen
The Proposed Plea Deal
At her preliminary hearing on May 25, 2023, Stein waived the hearing after attorneys reached a tentative agreement.9CBS News Pittsburgh. Chloe Stein Faking Abduction Pay for Search Preliminary Hearing Under the proposed deal, she would enter Pennsylvania’s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, a probationary track for first-time, nonviolent offenders. Completing ARD would allow her record to be expunged and the four misdemeanor charges to be set aside.10WPXI. Woman Who Police Say Faked Abduction May Have to Pay Over $11,000 in Plea Agreement
The agreement also called for Stein to pay approximately $11,500 in restitution, a combined figure representing what state police and county agencies calculated they spent on the search. A Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas judge had to approve the arrangement, with a hearing scheduled for July 25, 2023.10WPXI. Woman Who Police Say Faked Abduction May Have to Pay Over $11,000 in Plea Agreement Publicly available reporting does not confirm whether the judge ultimately signed off on the ARD arrangement.
How Stein’s Outcome Compares
Faked abductions that pull in large search operations can carry much heavier consequences than what Stein faced. Sherri Papini of California was sentenced in 2022 to 18 months in federal prison for staging her 2016 kidnapping and lying to the FBI, and was ordered to pay more than $300,000 in restitution, including over $150,000 to the agencies that searched for her.11NPR. Sherri Papini Kidnapping Hoax Sentence In a 2011 Florida case, Quinn Gray received seven years of probation and was ordered to pay $43,000 to the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office for a 2009 hoax.12FindLaw. Why Faking Your Own Kidnapping Is Always a Bad Idea Stein’s proposed resolution was comparatively lenient, reflecting that her charges were all misdemeanors and the case stayed in state court.