Police chief speaks out after woman accused of fabricating disappearance
By Rex Hodge
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FRANKLIN, North Carolina (WLOS) — A Franklin woman faces charges for allegedly orchestrating false reports about her own murder.
Franklin police say Maggie Sweeney is accused of making anonymous third party false reports to a friend and to DSS that she had been murdered. At first, Sweeney was reported missing on Friday, Aug. 18. Multiple resources were expended looking for her.
“Everything at the moment seemed legitimate,” says Franklin Police Chief Devin Holland.
Then, an anonymous text came in.
“That allegedly said that Maggie had been assaulted and that she was deceased,” Chief Holland says. “Come Saturday morning August 19th, we were able to ping her phone in a neighboring town.”
A deputy found her in Highlands, safe and unharmed.
“She said that she didn’t know everyone was looking for her,” says Holland.
But he says that proved false.
“The information provided to the friend and DSS actually came from her phone,” Holland says. “We believe that Miss Sweeney allegedly sent these fraudulent messages.”
Sweeney was arrested in Franklin Monday on three misdemeanors: False report to a police station, obstructing law enforcement and false report of death.
Holland said he wonders if they should be felonies, citing unnecessary manhours spent and the danger involved.
“Someone could have gotten hurt or severely injured or killed doing this,” he says.
The police chief says he doesn’t know Sweeney’s motivation.
“It does appear there were some domestic issues with the boyfriend,” he says.
As the case unfolds, Western Carolina University Assistant Psychology Professor Dr. Annie Wilson says there could be many reasons someone might orchestrate false reports. She says in this case, and in other fake reports cropping up around the country, it’s important to place behavior in context.
“There could be personal characteristics that contribute to someone making a false claim like this,” Dr. Wilson says. “There could be mental health concerns, institutional or environmental influences too.”
Wilson notes technology and social media open a convenient avenue.
“It definitely opens up that possibility for people to act out in different ways,” she says.
Chief Holland says mental health needs to be part of the process.
“We, as a community, should probably be a little better about reaching out and offering those services,” he says.
Sweeney is free on a written promise to appear with a court date of Sept. 7, 2023.
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