A 23-year-old Pennsylvania woman has been charged with faking her own disapperance

Police said Chloe Stein had been last seen leaving a Sonic restaurant in Hempfield Township where she worked late Monday night, WTAE reported. Her boyfriend received a text that night saying she was being pulled over, but she wasn’t seen or heard from again.

Police issued a Missing Endangered Person Advisory for her, KDKA reported.

State police said on Wednesday that investigators got a tip that Stein was at a home in Jeannette, where they found her safe and brought her in for questioning.

Initially, she said se was abducted by a man in a mask at gunpoint and was later released near her home. As questioning continued, however, she admitted to making it all up.

Investigators said she abandoned her car and walked about three miles to an acquaintance’s home in Jeannette. Trooper Steve Limani said investigators believe she made the choice to fake an abduction because she felt she had no choice.

Stein’s mother had said her daughter was supposed to graduate from Penn State Greater Allegheny this weekend, but the investigation learned that she had not been enrolled at the school for the past year and a half.

“The situation at college was a driving force, probably the number one driving force for the whole scenario,” Limani said.

In fact, Limiani said, it appeared she had been in a garage behind her home for nearly the entire time she was reportedly abducted.

State police said Stein faces charges of false alarm to a public safety agency, false reports, disorderly conduct, and obstruction of the administration of law.

Her attorney, Phil DiLucente, issued a statement saying that Stein “and her family are grateful for the support and kindness of all concerning recent events, and to that end respectully requests privacy at this time.”

Stein was released from Westmoreland County jail Wednesday morning and made no comment.

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[Featured image: Chloe Stein/KDKA screenshot]