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Runaway, friend admit making up assault story

Tuesday, December 2, 2008 6:36 PM PST

By Leslie Slape

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Officers from several local police agencies searched in vain Sunday for a phantom knife-wielding assailant invented by a teenage girl and her friend.

The “victim,” a 16-year-old runaway from Kelso, was cited with making a false police report, a misdemeanor. Police also cited Jessica Kay Gabbard, 20, of Kelso, who claimed to have witnessed the attack.

The 911 call came in at 7:43 p.m. Sunday from a worker at the Emergency Support Shelter, who said a girl had just walked in with little knife wounds all over her.

Police responded and noted that the girl had several cuts on her arms, chest, hands and side. She was taken to St. John Medical Center for treatment.

Gabbard and the girl described the attacker as a white male, 25 years old, 5-foot-11, with brown hair, dressed all in black and traveling on foot. Police searched the area extensively without success.

Evidence collected at the scene did not match the story, police said. Officers questioned the girl and Gabbard further, and eventually the two admitted concocting the story so that the girl could gain admittance to the shelter, police said.

Police notified the girl’s mother and removed her name as a runaway.

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Gondolapete wrote on Dec 2, 2008 12:09 AM:

" WOW..a young girl making a false police report..that is shocking!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "

lou wrote on Dec 2, 2008 7:14 AM:

" So... did she stab herself? All this just to get into a shelter? "

BIGDAR wrote on Dec 2, 2008 8:53 AM:

" This young girl obviously needs professional help and hopefully she will get it. She had to have been feeling very desperate to resort such extreme actions. "

cheney119 wrote on Dec 2, 2008 9:08 AM:

" Bigdar is right. Have some compassion for her, I don't know the complete details, but at first glance she needs help not punishment. "

Tom wrote on Dec 2, 2008 9:12 AM:

" Gondo: This actually surprises you????? This is typical of girls this age...they lie and make up stories. "

sammy wrote on Dec 2, 2008 9:21 AM:

" Desperate? Desperate for attention and in desperate need of a swift kick. "

lola*in*Longview wrote on Dec 2, 2008 10:05 AM:

" I agree with bigdar. There is obviously some reason she would rather be in a womans shelter than home. I don't htink she had to go to that extreme to gain admitance to the shelter. Maybe the shelter should let the public know what criteria they have to meet to be admitted for safety, maybe we will have less of these false claims in the future. "

Diesel wrote on Dec 2, 2008 10:14 AM:

" It does sound like she needs some professional help. That plus a new set of friends. While the 20 year old might have been trying to help her younger friend she should have known better. Lets wait till the whole story comes out before making judgement calls. "

mom of four wrote on Dec 2, 2008 11:08 AM:

" This is serious. She may have actually made up the lie to get help me personally i wouldnt have cut myself but officals in our city tell young kids the stupidest things. Example: You can't get in the shelter unless you have been attacked. Not to say this is what happened but there are deeper roots "kids" usally do not lie they tell the truth and parents lie to cover up something deeper. "

herenkelso wrote on Dec 2, 2008 8:30 PM:

" What I have found in my experience is that more often than not teens will lie to get themselves out of trouble. Missed curfew? Got beat up. Skipped school? A bully was going to jump them. Don't like the rules at home? Mom and dad...fill in the blanks. A kid so manipulative that she would let herself get cut to prove a lie? A kid with a cop right in front of them to report abuse at home and lies instead? A kid hanging around 20 year old? I wouldn't be looking at the parents for abuse. I would be looking at an out of control teen. "

DMBKI wrote on Dec 3, 2008 7:13 AM:

" Seriously, it seems like kids these days will run away if they actually have rules at home. Maybe she wasn't allowed to do something she wanted because her mom said no. Kids have a misguided sense of entitlement these days and they think they can make decisions for themselves that could harm them. "

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