MIDDLETOWN -- A Portsmouth woman has admitted that she lied to police
when she told them she was carjacked in Newport Monday morning and
forced to drive to Middletown, the Middletown police said this morning.
The woman's initial report struck fear in Aquidneck Island residents and
prompted police to set up roadblocks, search cars and buildings in
northwest Middletown that day looking for a suspect, said Police Chief
William Burns.
"The fear has really permeated the whole island, the whole community,
Newport, Middletown and Portsmouth," Burns said. "People were afraid to
go out."
He added, "We wanted to get the word out right away this morning to
alleviate some of the fear."
The 31-year-old woman initially told police that a man had gotten into
her car in Newport, told her he had a gun, then forced her to drive to
to a secluded area off Burma Road, which runs along the coast in
Middletown. There, she alleged, he sexually assaulted her before running
away toward a Navy housing complex.
The woman admitted to detectives late yesterday that she had not been
carjacked. She acknowledged that she had met a former boyfriend in
Newport Monday morning, then voluntarily followed him in her car to
Middletown, where they pulled off into a secluded area off Burma Road,
according to Burns.
"Some type of incident did take place" between the woman and her former
boyfriend in Middletown, but police are still investigating to determine
exactly what happened and whether any charges will result, Burns said.
The woman's name has not been released. She could face charges related
to lying to police, said Burns, whose department will discuss the case
with the state Attorney General's Office before deciding whether to
charge her.
As police investigated the case, Burns said, they grew more doubtful of
the woman's story. They were surprised that they could not find a
suspect despite their intense search, which involved some 50 police
officers from Middletown, Portsmouth, Newport, the Navy and the State
Police.
The police searched hundreds of buildings, according to Burns, and they
stopped cars and trucks entering and leaving the area, checking their
trunks and truck beds. They even used thermal imaging equipment supplied
by the fire department to ensure nobody was hiding in brushy areas,
Burns said.
"It was our feeling that if there was a perpetrator he couldn't have
gotten out of the area, especially on foot," Burns said.
Despite the inconvenience, residents and drivers in the area "were very
understanding," according to Burns.
He said, "I think they really appreciated it."
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