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By Minyvonne Burke
A North Carolina woman was arrested for allegedly making up a story about a missing mother and newborn child in order to get someone to send her money, authorities said.
The Scotland County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigative Unit on Thursday asked via a Facebook post for the public’s help in finding a missing mother, identified as April Morrison, and her baby girl, believed to be 2 or 3 weeks old. Authorities said they were notified of the missing mother and baby by an unidentified woman and her daughter.
In an update on the case Friday night, however, the sheriff’s office said they had learned the missing persons report was a hoax and Morrison and her baby were not real people. The department also said it had arrested Danilla Mitzia “Missy” Bethea for allegedly making up the story in order to get the mother and daughter to send her money, a Facebook post by the sheriff’s office stated.
Authorities began searching for Morrison and the baby after they were told that Morrison allegedly vanished from the nearby Richmond County area shortly after giving birth. Investigators said they were told that Morrison was either deceased or had been forced to leave the area after giving birth, and her daughter was in the care of someone else.
Initial reports of the disappearance led to the multiple agencies including the FBI, to search for the supposedly missing mother and child.
During the investigation, the sheriff’s office said the mother and daughter who reported Morrison missing believed that Bethea was taking care of the baby and feared she would gain custody of the child.
When Bethea was interviewed, she had allegedly told deputies that Morrison was safe and the baby was with someone else. Investigators said they later learned that Bethea made up the story to get the mother and daughter to send her money.
“Upon further investigation, investigators determined that the statements provided by Bethea were allegedly false. April Morrison was a fictional character and there was no infant child,” the department said in an update on Friday.
Bethea is being held on a $100,000 secured bond at the Scotland County Detention Facility on 10 counts of felony obtaining property by false pretenses and one count of felony false reports to a law enforcement agency pertaining to a missing child.