College Dropout Faked Her Own Abduction to Avoid the Embarrassment of Graduation.

Chloe Stein of Pennsylvania had dropped out of Penn State, unbeknownst to her family, about two years ago. This week she should have been due for graduation. Chloe reportedly couldn’t handle the embarrassment she knew was coming her way, so instead she caused her entire family, her friends, and community to panic.

23-year-old Stein had devised a plan to escape that was unorthodox, to say the least. This past Monday the ‘abduction’ began. Stein worked at a Sonic in Hempfield where, as reported by WTAE, she disappeared at about 10:35 pm. Later that night she texted her boyfriend that she had been pulled over by a cop.

20 hours later she was still missing and the police really got involved. According to the New York Post, the police spent tens of thousands of dollars on this search. Because of the potential severity of the situation, the police enlisted tons of fuel, time, people, vehicles (including a helicopter) and nearly everything else at their disposal to find Chloe.

College Dropout Faked Her Own Abduction to Avoid the Embarrassment of Graduation.

After receiving a tip on Chloe’s location, the police learned Tuesday night that she was safe at a friend’s home nearby. Upon finding and questioning her, Chloe lied to the police, telling them that she was abducted by a masked man at gunpoint and then subsequently released… conveniently near the friend’s home of course. Eventually, following further questioning, Chloe gave up and admitted that she had been making up the whole story. She had ditched her Volkswagen Beetle and phone and walked to the friend’s house.

Stein has since been released from prison and will have her court hearing May 25th. Despite being interrogated, causing her entire community stress, and the police department a lot of trouble, Chloe did manage to miss graduation. However, it is safe to say that she did not quite achieve her goal of dodging embarrassment.

Read More: Graduation Party Literally Brings the House Down After Dance Floor Collapses