A Drake student was robbed and kidnapped north of campus at 1:15 a.m. on Nov. 23, according to The Des Moines Register.

The story changed last Wednesday when police reported that Thaden was not kidnapped. This is the second allegedly false kidnapping report identified in the last week.

Junior Michael Thaden said he was approached by a man with a silver handgun while in his vehicle.
The man took $50 from his wallet then got in the passenger seat and instructed him to drive to West Des Moines. The man told Thaden to wait in the car while the man got a friend. Thaden drove off and contacted police when the man got out of the car.

Thaden was charged Wednesday with making a false police report and taken to Polk County Jail.
“In the subsequent investigation follow-up, it has been determined that the kidnapping and robbery reported in this case did not occur,” said Police Sgt. Jeff Edwards in a press release reported by The Des Moines Register.

Edwards says the police department took the case seriously and committed a large amount of time to investigate the matter.

“That [time] could have been spent toward legitimate investigations,” Smith said. “The Des Moines Police Department does not want to discourage individuals from making reports of incidents they believe to be crimes, however, deliberately making a false report when the reporting person knows the act reported didn’t occur is a criminal offense.”

Photo: Jail Photo