CLIO — What started as an alarming post on Facebook over the weekend about two white males posing as law enforcement officers, pulling over a female, and illegally searching and removing items from her vehicle, was proven to be a false report by Tuesday morning.
News of the disturbing crime flooded social media and with it came the obligatory rumors characteristic of a county where everybody knows everybody.
Quick to shut down local gossip and inform the public of the seriousness nature of the crime, the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) quickly announced an investigation into the reported incident was underway via a social media post made earlier this week.
In the post, the MCSO announced that a female poster claimed, “two white males, posing as law enforcement, initiated a traffic stop in the Clio area of Marlboro County.”
According to information provided in the original post alleging the incident, the white male suspects drove a silver Ford F-150 truck outfitted with multiple blue lights at the time of the alleged traffic stop. She also claimed that while conducting an unlawful search of her vehicle, the men removed currency, a knife, and a taser.
Tuesday, the MCSO announced investigators retrieved camera footage from property owners and interviewed several residents in the Clio area. Following a reviewal of the footage, investigators stated they were able to positively determine that while the female was in the Clio vicinity during the time of the alleged incident, there was no video evidence to support her claim. Upon interviewing her further, the woman sensed the gig was up and confessed to falsifying the story.
The MCSO cautions the public against sharing unverified information as doing so might result in unintended outcomes. The incident remains under investigation, and no announcement has been made regarding possible charges at time of print.