Mom reports four-year-old daughter missing only for cops to realize it's all a hoax when she's found safe at home

The 'abduction' of a four-year-old miss successful Illinois was discovered to beryllium a hoax orchestrated by her parent aft constabulary discovered the kid astatine the home.

Princess Ilunga, 37, called 911 to study that her car had been stolen extracurricular her Rock Island location with her girl Blessing Aoci inactive inside.

In a strategy successful which constabulary person since referred to arsenic 'an intentional deception', Blessing was ne'er 'missing' and was alternatively discovered to beryllium safe. 

'From the infinitesimal the 911 telephone was made, our officers were lied to, with the lone happening being existent was that the car had been stolen aft she near it running,' Rock Island Police Chief Timothy McCloud said astatine a property league connected Thursday.

'This was, by each accounts, an intentional deception that wasted the clip and resources of six section instrumentality enforcement agencies, the Illinois State Police, the FBI and the US Marshals,' helium added. 'She made each effort to fell the miss from us.'

Ilunga was arrested successful Wisconsin aboriginal Thursday evening and taken to Jefferson County Jail wherever she is awaiting extradition backmost to Illinois, QC News reported.  

The bizarre lawsuit began successful the aboriginal greeting hours of January 16 erstwhile Ilunga called 911 to study her young girl missing, KWQC News reported.

At astir 6am, the parent reported that she had enactment her young girl successful her car spot earlier moving backmost into the location to drawback her different six children. During that abbreviated model of time, she claimed that her conveyance had been stolen.

According to police, Ilunga reiterated six times that her girl was successful the stolen car. McCloud besides added that it was 'easy to understand' the parent arsenic she spoke 'very bully English, albeit with an accent.'

Just 17 minutes aft the report, constabulary recovered the car 8 blocks from the location with Blessing obscurity to beryllium found.

'We considered each possibility; that she had been transferred to different stolen car, that she had gotten retired of the stolen car and was present lost, oregon the nightmare script that she had been abducted by idiosyncratic else,' McCloud said.

The find prompted the Rock Island County Police to contented an AMBER Alert for the four-year-old miss arsenic extended hunt efforts began to unfold.

Police had to get a photograph of Blessing from her schoolhouse aft her parent amazingly told officers that she couldn't supply them with 1 herself.

At first, Ilunga didn't let constabulary wrong to hunt her home. When officers were yet permitted access, the parent claimed that a young miss successful the room, who was aboriginal discovered to beryllium Blessing, was a antithetic girl named Baraka.

'Ms. Ilunga really pointed to "Baraka" and said that Blessing looks conscionable similar her sister,' McCloud said.

'Additionally, Ms. Ilunga advised officers not to talk with the girl that she referred to arsenic Baraka due to the fact that she was excessively young and did not talk precise well.' 

During this time, Ilunga, who was speaking to officers successful English but Swahili to her family, told her children to region the girl's pinkish overgarment and to lone notation to her by Baraka.

As aggregate agencies searched for blessing, a detective was assigned to enactment astatine the location with the mother, according to McCloud.

After astir 9 hours of hunt efforts - a process successful which McCloud said to beryllium a monolithic undertaking that helium had ne'er seen earlier successful Rock Island - Blessing was recovered harmless successful an alley down her location conscionable earlier 3pm.

Officers were instantly suspicious of the result erstwhile Blessing turned up harmless with nary signs of distress oregon vulnerability to the cold. Nevertheless, she was taken to the infirmary for evaluation.

'Our unfortunate was lone 4 years old, and reportedly conscionable suffered done a precise traumatic event,' McCloud said. 'Unfortunately, Blessing could not supply america with an mentation arsenic to wherever she had been.

'Despite the alleviation that we each felt astatine her harmless return, our investigators past had to statesman moving to reply the question - wherever was Blessing during those 9 hours?' 

The hoax began to unravel aboriginal connected successful the probe erstwhile constabulary were combing done hours of assemblage camera footage. 

An serviceman successful the section who spoke fluent Swahili was capable to find that the parent had been deceiving the constabulary since the precise beginning.

According to McCloud, Ilunga was instructing her different children to spell on with the lie.

'This is not conscionable a large misunderstanding. This is not the effect of a connection barrier,' McCloud said. 'From the infinitesimal our archetypal responding serviceman arrived, Ms. Ilunga could person told the truth.' 

When the detective assigned to the location ran backmost to the presumption a fewer hours into the search, the parent utilized the accidental to enactment Blessing backmost successful her pinkish coat.

From there, Ilunga enactment her girl retired to the alley wherever she was past 'found' harmless and dependable by 2 women. 

'We person tried to recognize wherefore she would invent this story, but erstwhile confronted with each the information, the household stopped cooperating with the investigation,' McCloud said.

Five teenagers were yet arrested connected the time Blessing was reported missing successful transportation to the case. Although the kidnapping charges volition beryllium dropped, the teens volition inactive beryllium prosecuted for stealing the car.

Jaron Bailey-Harris, 18, was arrested and charged with aggravated unlawful usage of a limb and possession of a stolen vehicle, Fox 19 reported.

The different arrests included 2 16-year-old boys, a 15-year-old miss and a 14-year-old girl. All of the teens person been charged with possession of a stolen vehicle. 

Police said that the motive into the hoax is unclear, different than the anticipation that Ilunga thought by reporting an abduction, her car would beryllium recovered faster. 

'That's the lone happening we tin deliberation of that's plausible astatine this point,' McCloud said. 'But since they won't springiness america a statement, I deliberation lone they are going to beryllium capable to reply that question.'

After being confronted, Ilunga on with her 7 children vanished. The nonaccomplishment to find their whereabouts led constabulary to contented an apprehension warrant for the parent connected charges of filing a mendacious constabulary study - a Class A felony.

Richard Aoci, Blessing's father, told KWQC News that helium had nary thought what was going connected since helium was successful Iowa astatine the time, but said that helium had spoken to Ilunga aft the household vanished. He believed that she was inactive determination successful the area.

However, helium said that helium had reservations regarding the constabulary department's broadside of the story. He said helium believed that they whitethorn beryllium trying to 'flip' what happened which had near Ilunga frightened and feeling 'targeted' by the officers. 

On January 30, Wisconsin State Patrol pulled implicit Ilunga for a suspended registration and an instrumentality violation, QC News reported.

The parent was taken into custody connected the outstanding warrant. Her 7 children, who were besides successful the vehicle, were taken to the Lake Mills Police Department.

At astir 10pm that aforesaid night, Aoci took custody of the children.