A Florida mother allegedly filed a false missing-person report Monday, claiming her autistic daughter had run away even though she had arranged for the 18-year-old to stay with a family friend, authorities said.
Tina Marie Melvin, 54, told the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office that her daughter had removed her tracking bracelet and vanished, CBS 12 reported.
The young woman is enrolled in the sheriff’s Livesaver program, which helps law enforcement locate people with cognitive disabilities who may wander, deputies told the local TV station.
Deputies launched an extensive search after Melvin reported her daughter missing, but investigators soon uncovered what they said was an elaborate deception.
Investigators reviewing surveillance footage from a neighbor’s home saw a vehicle arrive at Melvin’s residence shortly before her daughter was reported missing, according to police.
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Authorities then learned that Melvin had asked a family friend—who was unaware of the alleged scheme—to pick up her daughter before the woman’s father returned home.
Police said Melvin removed her daughter’s tracking bracelet, handed her over to the friend with whom she was supposed to stay, and then reported her missing.
After investigators exposed the alleged ruse, Melvin reportedly admitted that she had lied about her daughter’s disappearance.
She was arrested and charged with providing false information to law enforcement during a missing-person investigation, a first-degree misdemeanor.
Information about an attorney representing Melvin was not immediately available.
