New Glasgow Regional Police have charged a 39-year-old Pictou County woman with public mischief after she told police she was abducted by a stranger — an incident investigators have determined did not take place, said a police spokesperson.

The woman said she was assaulted and abducted by an unknown man Saturday at 8:45 p.m. near the Giant Tiger store in the Aberdeen Business Centre parking lot in New Glasgow, N.S., and then assaulted a second time in Blue Mountain.

She told police she was forced into a 2017 Dodge Durango with New Brunswick licence plates.

The suspect was described as a white man in his mid-30s to mid-40s, clean-shaven and wearing a baseball cap.

The woman was taken to Aberdeen Hospital in New Glasgow and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Apprehension in community

Const. Ken MacDonald said investigators have determined that the abduction did not happen and that the vehicle is owned by the woman.

MacDonald said the woman is not known to police. She is due in court on the mischief charge at a later date.

The initial report created fear in the town that there was an "abductor," MacDonald said.

"It did lead to some apprehension that the suspect was not caught. And as a result, this update … will put the community more at ease."

Separate assault probe continues

However, Pictou County RCMP are continuing to investigate the alleged assault on the woman in Blue Mountain.

Cpl. Dal Hutchinson said a false report of an abduction would not derail the RCMP investigation into the assault.

"Sometimes when people are under stress they may not always be upfront and honest with us," said Hutchinson. "Investigators are still talking to the victim, so it won't have that much of an impact at this stage until we've completed our investigation."