Four people have been arrested for a fake kidnapping prank, according to New York State Police.<\/p>\n
Police said they received a report on Jan. 7 around 1 p.m. that a vehicle was traveling on the I-87 Northway in Saratoga County with a passenger who was displaying a handwritten sign that said \u201chelp!! being kidnapped!!\u201d A vehicle matching a 911 caller\u2019s description was located on the highway in Malta, N.Y., and stopped by police during a \u201csignificant law enforcement response\u201d that caused a temporary shutdown of I-87 southbound.<\/p>\n
The 18-year-old driver and three passengers were removed from the vehicle and detained. An investigation determined that all four of them were aware of the sign displayed as an alleged \u201cjoke\u201d and that no kidnapping occurred.<\/p>\n
Jasmine R. Barber, 20, of Champlain, N.Y., Emily R. Ferdinandi, 20, of Champlain, N.Y., and two 18-year-olds involved were each charged with Falsely Reporting an Incident in the third degree. The names of the driver and the other 18-year-old were not disclosed; Barber and Ferdinandi were passengers.<\/p>\n
They were arrested and transported to State Police of Saratoga for processing. Each was issued a ticket to appear in Malta Town Court on Feb. 5 and released.<\/p>\n