An 11-year-old Florida girl has been arrested over a false kidnapping report—and she told officers it was part of a YouTube challenge. The Volusia County Sheriff's Office says the girl texted 911 at 9:45am Wednesday and claimed that a friend had been snatched by an armed man in a van, reports
ABC News. She also claimed she was in pursuit in a Jeep. After police finally determined it was a hoax, the girl was taken into custody and hit with a felony "false police report" charge as well as a misdemeanor charge she misused 911, per the
Daytona Beach News-Journal. She was taken into custody and sent to the Volusia Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Daytona Beach.
This wasn't a momentary ruse followed by a hang-up, but a 90-minute-long charade that involved police choppers and the girl texting details all along, say police. Eventually, once it was clear there was no kidnapping, police reverse-dialed the girl's phone number and arrived at her home. In bodycam video of her arrest, a deputy is heard saying, "You're going to take this as a lesson at 11 years old: When you do something stupid in the future, you're going to enjoy those cuffs." The crying girl said she thought the prank might be "funny" and that she was responding to "a YouTube challenge." Sheriff Mike Chitwood said police have to investigate every call like this, and "today it wasted valuable resources that might have helped someone else who legitimately needed our help," per Fox 35 Orlando.
Young people ending up in handcuffs after attempting online challenges found on TikTok or YouTube isn't all that new. USA Today reported in 2021 on arrests for a TikTok challenge, "devious licks," that had young people vandalizing school equipment. In June 2023, teens in Western Massachusetts were arrested after taking part in a TIkTok challenge that demonstrated how to steal Hyundais. As for the Florida 11-year-old, she may be done with online challenges, telling arresting officers, "I'm not going to do this again." (More crime stories.)
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