A delivery driver who told police he was abducted at gunpoint near McArthur’s Mills earlier this year is now facing a charge of public mischief after investigators determined the incident was faked.
On March 17, officers with the Upper Ottawa Valley OPP were called to South Algonquin Township after the driver claimed he had been held at gunpoint and forced to drive by two unknown suspects.
The man told police he had encountered a male and a female, one allegedly armed with a handgun, in Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan Township earlier that afternoon.
He claimed the pair forced their way into the delivery van and travelled with him along various rural roads before fleeing on foot near Whitney.
The OPP’s Emergency Response Team, Canine Unit, and Forensic Identification Services were brought in to search the area, but no suspects were found. The UOV Crime Unit also assisted in the investigation.
Following what police described as an in-depth investigation, officers determined the incident had been staged.
As a result, one man from Belleville has been charged with public mischief. He was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court in Pembroke on July 7.
