by ALISON LEVIER Section Editor
A New Jersey teen staged her own kidnapping to cover up her runaway on September 30.
Late that Sunday evening, Twitter was abuzz with the hash-tag “#helpfindkara” trending worldwide. A girl named Kara Alongi, with the Twitter username @KaraAlongi, tweeted at 5:12 P.M., “There is somone in my hour ecall 911,” leading Twitter users to believe that the 16-year-old Clark, New Jersey girl had actually been abducted.
The girl’s parents, who had been out at the time, came home to find a door open and no sign of Kara. They called the police and reported the suspicious scene.
The Clark Police Department received over 6,000 phone calls regarding Alongi’s tweet.
“I can’t believe this girl. Tens of thousands of people were worried about her. Everyone cared about getting her safe, but it seems that all she wanted was the fame,” said sophomore Elisabeth Marchese.
The investigation by Clark Police showed no signs of forced entry. They also found records of a phone call made to a taxi service from Alongi’s phone, and after talking to the driver of the cab, they concluded that the teen voluntarily left home alone. This proved that there was no foul play involved. After a long deliberation, the police were certain that this was just a classic case of a runaway teen.
On October 2, the police received a call from a Burger King on the New Jersey turnpike from Alongi who, after a routine hospital check, is safe at home with her family.
Sophomore Anne Ballman said, “You know, in a way I wish they’d never found her. What kind of sick person does something like this and expects to get away with it?”
The case does not end here, because Alongi could face criminal charges for creating false public alarm.
Twitter is still abuzz about this case, but tweets in support of Alongi have turned into hate mail.
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