The

chief said today that a woman who said she was raped on Monday afternoon at a busy shopping center fabricated the story.

Chief Craig Junginger said investigators don't know why Danielle Hayes made up the story.

She told police she pulled into

sometime after 1 p.m. to go shopping. She parked her blue minivan on Sleret Avenue on the west side of Borders and ran her errands, she said. The center, which covers 300,000 square feet and houses about 50 stores and restaurants, draws hundreds of people every day. Bargain hunters have streamed into Borders this week to take advantage of its liquidation sale.

The woman said after completing her shopping she returned to her van. She said two men grabbed her, dragged her behind the bookstore to a secluded area that holds an empty loading dock, walled off enclosure, path and a fenced off wetlands that collect stormwater runoff from the shopping center.

She said they raped her and fled.

The rape report stunned shoppers and the property manager for the center, which is marred by the occasional graffiti but rarely sees more serious crimes.

Hayes did not call 9-1-1 right away but did flag a security guard about 5 p.m. and he called police. She gave detectives few details about the men and then went to Legacy Mount Hood Medical Center for a rape exam.

Gresham police pulled surveillance video and interviewed the woman again.

Gresham police will meet with the district attorney next week to discuss possible charges. However, Junginger said he hopes that this false report won't dissuade rape victims from coming forward.

-- The Oregonian