Polygamist Tip-Off Traced to Hoaxer's Phone

Woman has history of making fake calls to abuse hotlines
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 24, 2008 7:02 AM CDT
Polygamist Tip-Off Traced to Hoaxer's Phone
Rozita Swinton has been arrested by Colorado police Thursday, April 17, 2008, and charged with false reporting to authorities in connection with the Yearning for Zion case in Texas.    (AP Photo/Colorado Springs Police Dept via The Colorado Springs Gazette)

Some of the dramatic calls thought to be from an abused teen that sparked a raid on a Texas polygamist ranch have been traced to a cell phone number previously used by a well-known hoaxer, the Denver Post reports. Court documents reveal that the 33-year-old woman has a history of making phony calls to crisis hotlines, claiming to be an abused teen.

Police did not find the teen among the 437 children they seized in the raid. The hoaxer is currently out on bail in a separate case in which she claimed to be a teenage girl locked in a basement. Officials insist that even if the original phone calls turn out to have been hoaxes, it will not affect their investigation. (More Yearning for Zion ranch stories.)

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