Woman lied about spotting Fox Lake suspects, authorities say
VOLO, Ill. -- A 30-year-old woman was charged with filing a false police report after she lied about spotting the suspects in the Fox Lake murder of Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, authorities said.
Kristin Kiefer's claim prompted a massive five-hour search in Volo and Lakemoor overnight.
The Lake County sheriff's office said Kiefer told officers she pulled over at Rt. 12 and Rt. 120 in Volo for car trouble. She alleged that two men in a cornfield approached her and tried to steal her car. She said they ran away.
Nearly 100 state and local law enforcement authorities searched the area along with 11 canine and three air units from around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday until around 2:30 a.m. Thursday. Nothing was found.
Authorities said Kiefer later admitted to lying, because she wanted attention from the family that she nannies for.
Kiefer, from Vernon Hills, was charged with two counts of disorderly conduct for falsifying a police report. One of those charges is a felony.
She is being held at Lake County Jail pending a bond hearing.
The response, Lake County sheriff's Detective Chris Covelli said, speaks to the current presence of law enforcement in the area.
"Obviously things will never be quite normal, with the loss of the lieutenant. But we are working very hard to restore things to as normal as possible," Covelli said.
The Lake County Major Crimes Task Force is leading the investigation of Gliniewicz's murder.
A massive manhunt went on for more than 20 hours earlier this week, after the lieutenant was fatally shot while responding to a call about three suspicious people in Fox Lake on Tuesday.
Area schools went on lockdown after the shooting. Classes were canceled on Wednesday as the manhunt continued. Students at Grant Community High School and other local schools returned to class on Thursday.
Gliniewicz was the first Fox Lake police officer to be killed in the line of duty.
