A 16-year-old who was reportedly kidnapped earlier this week in New York City has been found and is now being accused by law enforcement officials of staging the entire incident.
“Sixteen-year-old Karol Sanchez and her mother, who are from Poughquag in Dutchess County, were in the city for a doctor’s appointment earlier Monday,” NBC New York reported. “They were walking to a train station on Jackson Avenue around 11:30 p.m. when four men in a tan four-door sedan pulled up, according to law enforcement sources and police. Two men got out, pulled Sanchez in and drove off.”
The New York Times noted that many in New York City were captivated by the shocking kidnapping of Sanchez after law enforcement officials released a video of the alleged incident.
— NYPD 40th Precinct (@NYPD40Pct) December 17, 2019
Several hours later, law enforcement officials declared victory in the case, writing on Twitter: “WE HAVE A VICTORY TODAY !! Karol has been found !!! Thank you to all who have worked very hard to track down the people involved in this case !!!”
WE HAVE A VICTORY TODAY !! Karol has been found !!! Thank you to all who have worked very hard to track down the people involved in this case !!! pic.twitter.com/TYD7IlU49N
— NYPD 40th Precinct (@NYPD40Pct) December 17, 2019
Yet soon after Sanchez was safely recovered by authorities she reportedly made a stunning confession: she made the whole thing up.
“Shortly after she was found on Tuesday afternoon, Karol was questioned by officers from the 40th Precinct, where she admitted to setting up the kidnapping and then was released to her family,” The New York Times reported. “During the interview, one police official said Karol described her mother as ‘overprotective.'”
The New York Post reported that Sanchez allegedly staged the kidnapping “so that she could be with her boyfriend, a 23-year-old reputed Crips gangbanger once arrested for murder.”
The Times noted that during the incident Sanchez’s mother tried to intervene to stop the men from taking her daughter, at which point the men reportedly threw her on the ground.
Authorities are now reportedly weighing whether they will file criminal charges against Sanchez or the men who helped her stage the hoax.
KAROL SANCHEZ FOUND: source telling me she was found on Eagle Ave near her home. She’ll be taken to Lincoln Hospital in a bit to be evaluated. #Bronx @News12BX pic.twitter.com/8Xob30HJrW
— Jessica Cunnington (@JessicaNews12) December 17, 2019
Reaction online to the story was overwhelmingly negative with many comparing the case to the incident from earlier this year involving Jussie Smollett.
One Twitter user wrote: “Karol Sanchez and Jussie Smollett trynna set black folk back fifty years single handily.”
Karol Sanchez and Jussie Smollett trynna set black folk back fifty years single handily🤦🏽♂️😒☹️🤯 pic.twitter.com/jSPd34y2gM
— Babyface Kese (@BabyfaceKese) December 17, 2019
Another Twitter user added: “So we had to start 2019 with Jussie Smollett‘s hoax and now end it with Karol Sanchez’s staged kidnapping?! I am too through! 2020 can’t come soon enough!”
So we had to start 2019 with Jussie Smollett's hoax and now end it with Karol Sanchez's staged kidnapping?! I am too through! 2020 can't come soon enough! pic.twitter.com/jMi1n0BuSy
— Giselle J. Phelps (@GisellePhelps) December 17, 2019
Another Twitter user wrote: “So the black community started off 2019 with the Jussie Smollett, and we’re ending it with Karol Sanchez. Boy I swear…. can’t win for losing.”
So the black community started off 2019 with the Jussie Smollett, and we’re ending it with Karol Sanchez. Boy I swear…. can’t win for losing. pic.twitter.com/oO37IXfgHw
— Kiana Jackson✨📚 (@kianarenai) December 17, 2019
Tariq Nasheed issued a series of tweets on the story, writing: “Why are all the details so sketchy about this Karol Sanchez abduction case? She has been found safe, but there are zero details about what happened. Who were the suspects? Where did they take her? Why did they take her? How was she found?”
Why are all the details so sketchy about this Karol Sanchez abduction case? She has been found safe, but there are zero details about what happened. Who were the suspects? Where did they take her? Why did they take her? How was she found?
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) December 17, 2019
“We know this Karol Sanchez story is a hoax now, but things still seem fishy about it. The whole ‘sHe wUz sCarEd tO gO BaCk tO HoNdUrAs’ story seems sketchy too. Whats REALLY behind this story?” Nasheed added. “We have to watch these non-Foundational Black Americans pulling these types of hoaxes that Karol Sanchez pulled. Because Black Americans somehow end up getting blamed.”
We know this Karol Sanchez story is a hoax now, but things still seem fishy about it. The whole "sHe wUz sCarEd tO gO BaCk tO HoNdUrAs" story seems sketchy too.
Whats REALLY behind this story?
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) December 18, 2019
We have to watch these non-Foundational Black Americans pulling these types of hoaxes that Karol Sanchez pulled. Because Black Americans somehow end up getting blamed
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) December 18, 2019