A Jeannette woman hid for about 20 hours in a detached garage at her family’s home while her loved ones, friends and police searched for her for hours Tuesday after her car was found abandoned on a desolate stretch of a Hempfield road, according to Trooper Steve Limani.
Chloe Stein, 23, walked to a neighbor’s home around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and claimed she had been abducted while driving home from work at Sonic in Hempfield on Monday. But by then, authorities were becoming suspicious of the situation, Limani said. They learned Stein had indicated to family that she was about to graduate college, but Penn State officials told investigators she hadn’t been a student for at least a year.
Stein was arraigned Wednesday morning on misdemeanor charges of false alarm, false reports, obstruction and disorderly conduct after spending the night at the Westmoreland County Prison. She is free on $25,000 unsecured bail.
After Stein’s family reported her missing Tuesday afternoon, Limani said there was a massive, costly police response.
In reconstructing the incident, police said Stein was last seen leaving the Sonic restaurant off Route 30 in Hempfield, where she worked, at about 10:30 p.m. Monday. She claimed she had dropped a friend off and stopped back at the restaurant after realizing she still had a key to the building, Limani said.
About 10 minutes later, Stein sent a message to her boyfriend that indicated she believed she was being pulled over after turning onto Radebaugh Road from North Greengate Road in the direction of her home.
A passerby told authorities they spotted Stein’s car parked with no one around it at 11:10 p.m. Monday.
Her boyfriend and companions found the Volkswagen Beetle abandoned along Radebaugh Road underneath the bridge carrying Toll Route 66, about a mile from the Sonic restaurant. Her cell phone was inside.
State police believe Stein ditched her car and walked at least 3 miles back to Jeannette where she hunkered down in the garage that is not used to store vehicles, Limani said.
Until she was found, police used dogs, a helicopter and help from area fire departments to search a nearby wooded area for her. They got video evidence from the railroad that runs along Radebaugh Road and conducted interviews of people who were identified as having possibly slighted Stein in the past. Social media posts seeking information on her whereabouts were shared widely Tuesday, causing concern for community members, family and friends.
“It was literally all hands on deck to where other stations were helping us with calls,” Limani said.
Tens of thousands of dollars in manpower, equipment and reviews of electronic data were expended in the search and troopers plan to discuss the potential for restitution with the county district attorney, he said. But there was not a traffic stop, as Stein had claimed, police said.
During an interview with police after being found, Stein continued to claim that she was abducted after a traffic stop, blindfolded and taken to various locations around the area, according to court papers. But police weren’t buying it.
“Video evidence, cellular evidence and information obtained during interviews concluded that Stein had fabricated the incident,” troopers wrote in the complaint. “When questioned further about the inconsistencies, Stein admitted that she had fabricated all of the information pertaining to the incident.”
Stein did not have an attorney listed in online court records.