Horrifying hoax: Men in plastic jumpsuits tie up, abduct 3 in public
Aug 23, 2018, 7:10 AM | Updated: 9:58 am
A group of men dressed in white plastic jumpsuits with hoods grabbed three people at an Olympia park, tied them up as they yelled for help, and then shoved them into a truck before speeding away late Wednesday evening.
Witnesses were shocked and called 911. The Washington State Patrol deployed a widespread effort to get any information on the suspects and victims — one of whom was a child. It didn’t take long, however, for investigators to discover it was a possible hoax.
UPDATE: The possible Heritage Park abduction has been confirmed as a hoax. All those involved have been ID’d and confirmed safe. Detectives are continuing to investigate & will work w/ the Prosecutor’s office for potential charges.
— WA State Patrol (@wastatepatrol) August 23, 2018
Before the revelation that the incident was staged, WSP had released photos and a description of the suspects and their vehicle. The notice was spread throughout social media, even gaining support from Washington State Governor Jay Inslee.
“We are looking for any information we can get about an abduction that occurred last night in Olympia at Heritage Park,” Sgt. James Prouty told KIRO Radio Thursday morning. “We don’t have any identified suspects. We know from witnesses that there were five or six males dressed in white plastic jumpsuits with hoods that took three victims. One of the victims, they were able to see was a 4-6 year old female child.”
“They were dressed in white plastic jumpsuits,” he said. “It’s something you would see at, maybe, a hazardous material scene. They zip tied them and then put them into what was described as a red Ford Pickup truck …”
Witnesses described a red Ford pickup truck with a matching canopy and a gray or white hood.
Police received a call about a possible abduction at Heritage Park in Olympia, near Power House Road, at around 10:30 p.m., Wednesday, Aug. 22. Troopers responded, but the suspects were gone along with three people, including a child.
Sgt. Prouty said that WSP did not receive any reports about missing people from the area by Thursday morning. But he said that since a child was involved, they had to consider it a genuine abduction case until proven otherwise.
“We have to treat it as an abduction until we can confirm otherwise, especially when you have children involved,” he said. “We want to do everything we can to get the answers.”
Olympia abduction
Washington State Patrol released this information Thursday morning:
Witnesses indicated that five to six males dressed in white plastic jumpsuits and hoods grabbed three victims and restrained them with zip ties. According to the witnesses, the victims were asking for help and for someone to call 911. The witnesses were only able to describe one of the victims as a young female child between the ages of four to six-years-old. They were not able to provide any additional information on the victims.
Investigators spoke with witnesses at the scene. They obtained surveillance video showing what they believe is the truck used in the incident. Investigators seek anyone who may have been in the area before, during, or after the event happened, or anyone with information about the victims and suspects.
Anybody with information is asked to contact detectives at 360-704-2959 or sistips@wsp.wa.gov.
Our troopers need your help finding the men who kidnapped three people last night, possibly including a child. Please report any tips right away. https://t.co/YksXVRPdG5
— Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) August 23, 2018
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