Rochester, Minn. — Criminal charges have been filed against a Rochester girl accused of faking her own kidnapping to extort money from her family, leading them to believe that she would be killed if they didn’t come up with $500.

The 16-year-old girl is charged in Olmsted District Juvenile Court with felony attempt to coerce, felony motor vehicle theft and petty misdemeanor theft. She is being held at the Many Rivers Juvenile Detention Center in Rochester pending her next court hearing on Wednesday.

The girl’s younger sister called police Wednesday morning and said her sister had called a mutual friend. She was crying and said she was being held against her will in the Twin Cities and would be killed if her family did not give them $500.

The younger sister said she talked with a man who said the 16-year-old owed money to “some people” and that if the sister gave him the money, he would get it to the people the 16-year-old owed.

The younger sister told police she got a call from her sister, who said she was locked in a basement in the Twin Cities, that she would be killed if the money wasn’t paid or if the family contacted law enforcement. The girl said her older sister sounded frantic.

The girl’s mother told police that the girl took her car the previous evening despite being told not to.

The man told police that the 16-year-old made up the kidnapping story after she ran away from home. He had been in touch with the girl throughout the day and sent her a text message, saying he had the money and they should meet at Bear Creek Park.

The complaint said the girl was arrested at the park in her mother’s car. She reportedly said she took the car and called her sister with the kidnapping story because her mother didn’t like her friends and wouldn’t let her go to the school she preferred.

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Copyright (c) 2009, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.

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