SJSU student who made up kidnapping won’t face charges

File photo of police squad car at night. Patrol car with lights flashing File photo of police squad car at night. Patrol car with lights flashing Photo: Ron Chapple, Getty Image Photo: Ron Chapple, Getty Image Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close SJSU student who made up kidnapping won’t face charges 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

No charges will be filed against a San Jose State University college student who concocted a harrowing tale of being kidnapped at her apartment complex and forced at knifepoint to drive her abductor to Oregon, officials said Wednesday.

“We will not be submitting the incident to our D.A.’s office,” said Officer Albert Morales, a spokesman for the San Jose Police Department.

He added that the false report was filed under the jurisdiction of the Coos County (Ore.) Sheriff’s Office, where the woman was found, and that the Sheriff’s Office will handle any additional follow-up.

The 22-year-old San Jose State student was found running along a road in southern Oregon on Friday night, supposedly on the eve of her graduation. She told law enforcement officers that she had been kidnapped at knifepoint, beaten in the face and forced to drive hundreds of miles from San Jose in her car, according to the Coos County Sheriff’s Office.

When San Jose police officers interviewed the woman, they learned she made up the story, police said.

It wasn’t immediately clear why the woman lied, but police said no suspects were sought, adding that she recanted all of her claims.

The woman told the Sheriff’s Office that she had escaped from her imaginary captor — a stranger in a black hoodie, hat and gloves — when her car ran out of gas, hiding in tall grass for hours until night fell.

San Jose State police opened an investigation when the woman’s family arrived for her graduation and she failed to meet them.

University officials would not say whether the woman was in good standing to graduate on Saturday.

“I can only confirm that the person in question is an enrolled student. SJSU is grateful for her safe return,” Patricia Harris, a university spokeswoman, said by email.

Falsely reporting a crime is a misdemeanor in California and Oregon.

However, the Coos County Sheriff’s Office will not be pressing charges against the woman, Coos County sheriff’s Sgt. Kelley Andrews said.

“It happens from time to time,” Andrews said of the false report. “We’re not looking to punish the victim who may have been through an emotional time in her life — that’s not something we’re looking to do.

“There’s other avenues to work with the victim and get a better resolution,” he added.

Filipa Ioannou and Michael Bodley are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com, mbodley@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @obioannoukenobi, @michael_bodley