Indiana Woman Fakes Her Own Kidnapping And Blames The Abduction On A Black Man

Hannah Potts posted a live Facebook video of herself in a maroon vehicle claiming that she got kidnapped by a black man. Her family was left in a frenzy. After two days of confusion and uncertainty with Police and FBI joint investigation, Potts was found in her friend’s basement — admitting she made it all up.

After getting caught, the 22-year old told Indiana Police that she faked her abduction to get inspiration for her manuscript she was writing. According to The Courier Press, her friend Maria Hopper agreed to house her for the duration, and Hopper’s boyfriend Joshua Thomas was also in on the plot.

Gibson County Jail

The video which was originally posted on July 24 left Hannah's family in a tailspin with family distributing countless flyers. There was also a Facebook page where 4500 people joined to raise awareness about the kidnapping. Though the investigation was shortlived and ended with her discovery on July 26, Hannah has since drawn scorn — and criminal charges.

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“She is dead to me,” wrote sister Brittany Schonaman.

“I hope she is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. My family feel extremely embarrassed and hurt by her actions, and the fact she tried pinning this on a person of color. I pray no black man with a maroon colored car was targeted due to her blatant lie.”

While the embarrassing incident unfolded publicly on July 24, Hannah and her friend Hopper have been planning the incident whole week. Police uncovered a slew of text messages between the two throughout their investigation, in which the duo went as far as discussing destroying their cell phones and SIM cards.

Facebook

On the other hand, Hannah's family had to go through the most embarrassing situation of all. 

In the video, Hannah had claimed in her video that she was outdoors taking pictures of animals when a Black man calling her “baby girl” suddenly emerged and stuffed her into the trunk of his car.

She described her area of confinement as nothing more than a room with four walls and a light, before pleading with viewers to alert the authorities. Unbeknownst to every Black man in Indiana, they had just become a suspect in kidnapping a 23-year-old white woman.

Facebook

“With a broken heart,” wrote sister Lauren Potts on Facebook, “I never thought I would ever be posting something like this. I need help Facebook friends. Please share this post. Share this photo. Please help us.”

The flyers were distributed all around the area providing contact information for both Lauren Potts and the Princeton, Indiana Police Department. The missing Hannah's last known whereabouts and outfit were described, with a smiling photo of hers plastered above.

Hannah's family even created a Facebook page so information reaches them efficiently. It had not even been a day since Hannah disappeared — but 4,500 social media users seemed eager to help and a federal intelligence agency joined the hunt.

Unfortunately for Hannah the more attention her case got, the fallout of her failed plan was even greater on July 26. According to The Princeton Daily Clarion, Gibson County Sheriff’s Deputy Sergeant Roger Ballard and his men visited Hopper’s home — and found Hannah in an enclosed space in the basement.

Hopper initially did not let Police search her home but she eventually agreed. It was during the Police search when Ballard noted a stairway leading from the kitchen to the basement, Hopper said there wasn’t anything down there — but complied in letting the men take a peek.

A piece of plywood blocking off a suspicious basement area tipped Ballard off. Though Hopper claimed it was merely “an area that was just full of spiders,” police rather quickly found Hannah hiding inside.

“After being ordered to show herself, Hannah Potts then uncovered herself from the back corner of the area,” said Ballard. “Hannah Potts was wearing a fully functioning handcuff on her right wrist, and also had fully functioning shackles binding her ankles.”

In an astonishing turn of events, Hannah admitted that she was not held against her will and she wanted to stay in the basement.

The Police nonetheless urged her to be interviewed at the Gibson County Sheriff’s Office, where the truth finally emerged.

“She wanted to have this experience for research purposes in a manuscript that she was writing,” said Ballard.

After getting caught Hannah admitted that she rehearsed for the Facebook live video for over a week and assured her friend that it would go viral. She also confessed that Hopper and her boyfriend organized her basement hideout and drove her there in Hopper’s car, before handing her phone to Hopper to break it — and cutting the SIM card to pieces.

Facebook

Hannah not only faked her abduction recklessly but potentially endangered the lives of innocent Black men living and working in the area. Her family has since grown harshly distrustful, and publicly so — as Potts, Hopper, and Thomas await sentencing.

“Ms. Potts’ actions are criminal in nature,” said Gibson County Prosecutor Michael Cochren. “She had many people in her family and community worried sick over her personal health and safety. Further, she risked involving innocent individuals by giving a false description of the alleged abductor.”

“Finally, the number of hours spent by multiple law enforcement agencies in this time of limited resources is simply not recoverable. This callous disregard for others simply will not be tolerated.”

All three people involved in the crime now face one count of false informing, with a continuance granted to each defendant during an August court hearing. Potts and Hopper will face trial on Oct. 8, 2020, with Thomas set to appear on Sept. 28.