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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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Kidnapping Hoax: Philly Mom, Daughter Found in Fla.

Mother charged; they turn up at Disney World

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(Newser) – A mother who claimed that she and her 9-year-old daughter were kidnapped after a car accident in Philadelphia have been found safe and sound at Disney World in Orlando, reports the Inquirer. The mother, 38-year-old Bonnie Sweeten, has been charged with filing a false report, notes CNN. The motive for her apparent ruse, which set off a massive manhunt and triggered national attention, is unclear.

Sweeten called 911 yesterday afternoon and said that two black males abducted her and her daughter after a fender bender and stuffed them both into a car trunk. The story never added up, and the two were spotted at the Philadelphia airport shortly after the alleged kidnapping. Sweeten reportedly used fake ID to buy their tickets to Florida. Investigators have said they've had several reports of Sweeten being in a financial bind.

Bonnie Sweeten, in an undated photo.
Bonnie Sweeten, in an undated photo.   (AP Photo/Upper Southampton Township Police)
Julia Rakoczy in an undated photo. Police are searching for her and her mother, Bonnie Sweeten.
Julia Rakoczy in an undated photo. Police are searching for her and her mother, Bonnie Sweeten.   (AP Photo/Upper Southampton Township Police)
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13 comments
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OutRagedAndDisgusted
May 27, 09 6:41 PM CDT
"WTF???????" I have a nine-year old daughter. when I saw that girl's picture on the news websites, I just felt defeated. What is the world coming to? Children found in suitcases, children strangled to death in their beds, children shot dead on the streets of Chicago, and this crazy bitch leverages the horror by FAKING A KIDNAPPING BY 2 BLACK MEN!!!!I said it before and I'll say it again "WTF???????" Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
radnip
Jun 4, 09 4:40 PM CDT
The world isn't so bad if you remove all the stories involving family members, though family attacking each other seems to be a growing disease.
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DeniseVB
May 27, 09 7:36 PM CDT
I kept wondering how she could call from the trunk of a car? Wouldn't the "bad guys" have taken her cell phone? Bizzarro. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
LCherene
Jun 1, 09 10:20 AM CDT
Very good point, Denise!
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Reader64481089
May 27, 09 7:53 PM CDT
The infamous "Two Black Men", this past winter in a small town near Flint Michigan the same "Two Black Men" kidnapped a police mans wife at a large chain grocery store. She along with the car she claimed in the phone call that had been "car jacked" were soon found in the country, face smudged the works, one problem, surveillance video showed the entire thing with her driving happily away untouched 2 minutes after her 911 cell phone call. Cop quit the job and she went to therapy to help with her gambling addiction on which she blew all the money he would make for the next 10 years. Those two black stereotypes sure are busy and this woman needs some serious jail time for the false reports. Reply
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