`Incredible Escape` Never Happened

An 11-year-old girl who told police she had chewed through duct tape to escape an abductor at a motel where her family was staying made the story up, authorities said Monday.

It was not immediately known why the child told authorities she was taken and then bound.

However, police said they learned Monday afternoon that the motel had recently installed a new security system and that one camera had been trained on the area where the alleged abduction took place.

"Upon viewing the video, police determined that no crime occurred," police said in a statement. "A subsequent interview Monday evening by police with the girl and her mother determined that the alleged abduction never occurred."

Authorities were not able to view the tape earlier because the owner of Gene's Motel had been unavailable.

The girl had told authorities she was returning a vacuum cleaner she had borrowed from the housekeeping staff on Saturday afternoon when she was grabbed from behind, dragged into an unused room next to the one where her family was staying and bound with duct tape.

She said the man covered her with a pile of clothing and left the room, telling her he would be back later. Police said the girl was covered in duct tape when she crawled out of a room as they searched for her.

Lt. Robert Martens said police were conferring with the prosecutor's office on whether there will be any charges pressed. Officers spent a considerable amount of time following leads in the case.

"It's prevented us from investigating real crimes that are going on or maybe even preventing something else that could possibly happen," Martens said Sunday evening.

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