Lyft Driver Said She Was Kidnapped, Police Say She Made Up Story

ROMULUS, MI – A woman, who phoned her family and told her she was being held at gunpoint by a kidnapper in her car, is now under investigation, according to Michigan State Police. Troopers said the woman's claims were part of a ruse to get money from her family.

The initial report came into state police just before 7 p.m. Tuesday. The mother of the 29-year-old woman called police to report the possible kidnapping. The woman, a Lyft driver, texted her mother and said her client was demanding $2,500.

Troopers, including those in a police helicopter, were dispatched to find the woman and her car, state police reported. At one point, the mother told police that her daughter texted and said the client had pulled a gun and put it to her head as they drove north on Interstate 75 toward Flint. However, troopers were then told that the fare had gotten out of her car and the victim was traveling back toward Troy and heading to Somerset Mall.

Troopers found the victim’s car and also located her parents. They determined that the woman was not kidnapped, but made up the story in an attempt to get money from her family. The Michigan State Police Special Investigations Section is now looking into the incident. The police report is being turned over to the Oakland County Prosecutor's Office for consideration of criminal charges.

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