True Crime with Kendall Rae - Chloe Stein FAKED Her Own Kidnapping?

Episode Date: May 30, 2023

Chloe Stein is a 23 year old from Pennsylvania who is now facing charges after fabricating a kidnapping story. Before she was located, she was last seen leaving work at 10:30 pm on May 1st. She texted her boyfriend that she was getting pulled over around 11 pm, and then was not heard from again. She was reported missing the next day when her boyfriend and friends found her car abandoned under a highway. Donate to NCMEC through my campaign!  https://give.missingkids.org/campaign/kendall-rae/c438796 This episode is sponsored by: PrettyLitter - promo code: kendallrae PDS Debt Check out Kendall's other podcasts: The Sesh & Mile Higher Follow Kendall! YouTube Twitter Instagram Facebook Mile Higher Zoo REQUESTS: General case suggestion form: https://bit.ly/32kwPly Form for people directly related/ close to the victim: https://bit.ly/3KqMZLj Discord: https://discord.com/invite/an4stY9BCN CONTACT: For Business Inquiries - [e-mail]

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frustrating case. And it's one that immediately reminded me of Sherry Papini. As some of you may remember, I covered Sherry Papini's story and then covered an update on the story. I will have both of those linked below. And she was someone who faked her own kidnapping. Yeah, people actually do this. And today we're going to be talking about someone who also did this. To think someone would actually come up with an idea to do something like this and then come up with an idea to do something like this. And then actually execute it is just baffling to me. I mean, the complete lack of regard for the trauma you would put your own loved ones through by doing something like this, not to mention all of the wasted

resources of law enforcement, people who volunteer to search for you, everyone who's trying to spread awareness for you online, to not even factor in how you would affect all of those people, it's hard to even comprehend. But this is exactly what 23 year old Chloe Stein did. And because this story is literally unfolding as I speak, I wanted to share with you the information

that is available, but there are quite a few things that just aren't known yet. But before I get into telling you everything we do know so far, I wanted to take a moment to let you guys know that we finally have new merch available for National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Here it is. I am so pumped about this collection. I think the colors turned out amazing. I love this design. It really says so much more about what NeckMek is

and represents the organization more. We actually worked on it in collaboration with them this time. So it says every child deserves a safe childhood. And then it has the date that NeckMick was established. So we came up with two different versions. One is teal, yellow, and white. It is a t-shirt. They are super comfortable.

I love the fabric that we printed these on. And then we also had to do some purple, which is my favorite color. Kind of. I don't really have a favorite color. I kind of bounce around between colors, but this is one of my favorite colors. I love purple and yellow together and this one is a long sleeve because we love a long sleeve and it's orange, white and purple so these

are both available at mile hire merch.com and just like always 100% of the profit will be donated to our neck met campaign which is nearing $200,000. Thank you, you guys. I am so grateful to you all who have made that possible. I mean, we started this campaign sometime early 2022. And the thing that we have already raised that much just makes me so happy and proud of my audience. I just checked and as of today, when I'm recording our campaign is at $186,000 and I know that we will hit 200,000 pretty soon. So that's something to be very excited about.

Oh, and I forgot to mention what's also cool is the sleeves have the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children logo right on there. And that is also on the short sleeve version as well. I love how these turned out. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children logo right on there. And that is also on the short sleeve version as well. I love how these turned out. As always, we're going to have limited quantities. I tried to get more because you guys continually sold out the last collection every time I

would drop new merch, it would be sold out very, very quickly. So I hope I got enough to last us at least for a little while, but this will not be the only restock I'm planning on rest-stocking this collection a couple of times. So again, that's available at myohiremerge.com along with all the merch for this show and all of my other shows as well. So definitely check that out. It'll be linked below. So as we get into this case here, I want to start a bit of a conversation because I love a good debate in the comments. I want to know, and I think for the most part, I will know, what your thoughts are on people

faking their own kidnappings and their own deaths, because this is something that happens more than you would think. And specifically, I want to know if you think there is ever a good reason to do this. And I think most of you right off the bat will say, no, absolutely not duh. And in the case we're about to discuss Chloe Stein definitely was not a good reason. Listen, people, you know I love animals. I have 10 animals. They're all mammals and three of them are cats.

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But is there a situation where you think that something like this could be justified? Because this is something I have been thinking about a lot recently. The only scenario where I think it could be possibly okay and okay feels like the wrong word. I don't know what else to use. But would be a situation where someone is in fear of their life, is in fear that they could be in danger due to a specific person's actions. Like for example, maybe they're in a dangerous relationship and they feel like that's the only

way to protect themselves. But even then, I don't know if there would be enough justification for doing something like this when you think about the amount of resources that would be wasted, that could go to people that actually need the help. So in my opinion, I'm not even confident if there would be a situation where this would be necessary or acceptable to do. Over the years, I've met many people who have been in bad situations

where they are being threatened. They're in a bad, dangerous relationship and police aren't willing to do anything about it because there's no active threat in place. And obviously, there are some resources available, shelters and protective programs, restraining orders, although those don't seem to do that much either. I don't know, it's just something that was on my mind. If someone was in that desperate of a situation

where they really feared their life, would it ever be acceptable? And I definitely don't know the answer. I'm certainly not saying it is. I just wanted to kind of start a conversation about it and see what you guys think. But again, I can say for certain that Chloe Stein faking her own kidnapping had absolutely no moral backing. There was no good reason for her to do this. It was legitimately selfish and quite frankly, a very stupid decision. So this happened very recently. We're going to start here on May 1st. 23 year old Chloe Stein was living in a genet Pennsylvania working at a local sonic restaurant. And in the eyes of her friends and family,

Chloe was a student at Penn State Greater Allegheny University and was preparing to graduate with a degree in nursing. Except for spoiler alert, she wasn't. And the fact that she wasn't is the reason why Pennsylvania authorities believe she did what she did. It is currently unknown if this was something she premeditated or something she did on a whim, either way, really bad decision.

And it all started with a text message to her boyfriend. On Monday, May 1st, Chloe sent a text message to her boyfriend around 11pm stating that she had just been pulled over. She had worked a shift at Sonic that evening, so it wasn't necessarily strange that she was out driving late at night. Now the exact text hasn't been released, but I imagine it was probably something short and not very descriptive.

But after this text was sent, he didn't hear from Chloe again. Something else that isn't super clear is if he was living with Chloe, or if he was supposed to see her later that night. Part of me is thinking they probably weren't planning on seeing each other that night on the first because it wasn't until my second

that he and two other friends alerted authorities that Chloe was possibly missing. I'm also thinking this because the first thing that made Chloe's boyfriend realize he should call the police was because he and those two friends found Chloe's car abandoned on the side of the road the next morning. The car was located only a mile away from the sonic that she worked at and was facing the direction toward where she lived.

Of course this is just speculation, but I think if he was supposed to see her that night and she didn't come home, hopefully he would have called the police that night. But again, at this point it's early on in the case. I mean, this literally just happened, so there are some details we just aren't aware of yet. But as soon as it was reported to police, that Chloe was missing, they jumped right into action. And side note, it is just so frustrating to me that we see such a different reaction from police based on, first of all, what department, what area this happens,

but also the person who is missing. Sometimes they say something like, oh, they're an adult, they can disappear if they want to. You need to wait a little longer. And sometimes they jump right into action. It's so inconsistent that you never really know what you're going to get, which to me is really scary as a citizen knowing that I could be in this situation where I'm missing or someone I know and love is missing. And I don't know what reaction I would get or what help I would be able to get. And I think that is just really something that should scare all of us because we see such inconsistency across the board. But when I say that they jumped right into action in Chloe's case and did everything

they could possible to locate her, I really mean that. Right away, they had a search team patrolling the streets as well as canine units and even a helicopter searching for clues. As far as police were concerned, Chloe had left her job at Sonic around 10, 35 pm and then drove a coworker home, but then had to go back to work to pick something up. And I'm not sure exactly what that was. We're following breaking news at six, the search for a young woman who disappeared while on her way home from work.

The last anyone heard, Chloe Stein said she was getting pulled over by police. Kittie Kays, Jennifer Brasso joining us now live in Greensburg were investigators have located her vehicle. Jen, what's the latest?

That's right. So spokesperson for state police tells me that he will be arriving at the barracks soon to update reporters on the latest on this missing person. She said she was going to be in the hospital.

She said she was going to be in the hospital. She said she was going to be in the hospital. that's right so uh spokesperson for state police tells me that he will be arriving at the barracks soon to update reporters on the latest on this missing person search 23 years old that is Chloe Stein's age she was set to graduate from Penn State greater Allegheny this weekend her mother is desperate for answers she tells me that Chloe's boyfriend was the last person to communicate with her via text and it was her boyfriend and two friends who found Chloe's car earlier today. Not far from where she worked.

Now, here's the timeline that we know. Just after 10 p.m. last night, Chloe's mom tells me her daughter finished working at the Sonic and Hemfield Township. She drove a coworker home and returned back to the Sonic. Stay police say Chloe was last seen leaving there at 1030 and about 10 minutes later.

Her boyfriend, Nick, her mom tells me said he got a text message from Chloe saying she got pulled over by police. Now Chloe never made it home to Janette. And that's when her mom, family, and friends started looking for her. And as you can imagine, Chloe's poor mother, Suzanne, was totally freaked out. Didn't know where her daughter was. Obviously in that situation, your mind

just starts running with the possibilities and you are just desperate for help to find out where they are and to get them back safely. All she knew was that Chloe was missing and that her last text message to her boyfriend mentioned being pulled over. So immediately she starts contacting local police stations to see if there is a report of this actually taking place. And I would have done the exact same thing if I were in her shoes. If I found out that my daughter was missing and the last information I had about her was

that she was pulled over, I would want to find the officer that pulled her over and get any information I can from them, especially why they were pulled over, what they were like when they pulled over, you know, endless details that you could ask. But here's the thing. There were no reports of Chloe being pulled over. And I imagine this is when the red flags really started to raise that this disappearance may not be what they originally thought it was. And we just started calling police stations saying like, did somebody pull her over? This is her license plate number. Has anybody pulled, you know, anybody in that description over and nothing?

I don't know if it was, like, she truly was pulled over by a police officer or not. I don't know. We don't know, because we don't have confirmation that she was issued a citation, a warning, anything like that. Within a matter of 30 minutes, her boyfriend had said he and his friends were out and they had found her car. And when police searched Chloe's car, they noticed that her cell phone

had been left inside, but her wallet and any sort of identification was not there. Now, obviously, this could suggest that something really awful happened, but besides her phone being left in her car, there were no other signs of foul play. But that didn't stop police from searching. And like I mentioned earlier, there were canine units, even a helicopter that joined the search for Chloe. And it's important to note that on May 2nd, the day the search took place was not a

nice day. And this made conditions very dangerous for the pilot to fly in, but they did it anyway, because it was believed that Chloe was truly in danger. But the search for Chloe Stein actually ended on May 2nd later that evening when she magically appears at a neighbor's house saying that her kidnapper let her go. A tip was called in that same night around 8 p.m. saying that Chloe had returned. So, immediately, she was driven to the police station to give her statement. However, her sudden reappearance obviously made police even more suspicious about her story.

Now, according to Chloe, she was on her way home from work when she believed that she was being pulled over. Now, I'm not sure if she was saying that her abductor was a police officer or if her abductor was pretending to be a police officer, but either way, it was a lie. But she tells officers that she was held at gunpoint, abducted, assaulted, and then bound. And then for some reason, just released. And obviously, this automatically sounds like bullshit and police agreed right away. And they told her they thought it was bullshit right away.

They just flat out told her that her story didn't make sense. And right away, she folded and admitted to staging the entire thing. How many of you wish there was a better solution to paying off your debt? PDS debt has customized 0% interest options for anyone struggling with credit cards, personal loans, collections, or medical bills. And with interest rates rising and the cost of living at an all-time high, now is the time to finally take initiative with your debt. Stop waiting and start saving with your own custom debt savings options from PDS debt. If you're making

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and easy debt assessment at www.pds.com slash kr. That's pdsdbt.com slash KR. Take back your financial freedom today by visiting pds.com slash KR. Now, obviously, the main question everyone has is why. Why would you do something like this? And even though she didn't get very far with it, it's definitely not Sherry Papini level. But why would you put your family, your friends, your boyfriend through those hours of turmoil? And why would you waste all those police resources?

Well, right now, it is believed that Chloe Stein faked her own kidnapping in order to get out of having to tell her friends and family that she was actually not going to graduate from Penn State greater Allegheny. Because the reality is she hadn't been enrolled in classes in over a year. And the reason police were able to determine that this is what her motive was was because an anonymous tip called in that said that Chloe was not a student like she said she was. Put through hours of fear believing their daughter had gone missing only to learn. She allegedly faked her own kidnapping that young woman is now facing charges.

Shelly Boards joins us from Greensburg with what police are saying about the investigation. Shelly. Well, can police here say they believe Stein in her mind thought she had no other choice. Her inner circle of family and friends, they say we're planning on celebrating a momentous occasion in Stein's life in just a couple days, but only Stein knew that wouldn't happen. So immediately they had to hold a press conference and let the public know that the alert they had gotten about a missing and endangered person was not real.

And they also had to clarify that there wasn't some police officer or someone pretending to be one out on the streets abducting people. It was all made up by Chloe. Now, because all of this happened in a day's time, I doubt that there were that many people really concerned that an officer was out kidnapping people if anything, most of the speculation that I saw online,

where people concerned that someone could be posing as an officer, that does happen. Luckily, it was all fake and cleared up very quickly. The positive outcome is she's alive and that is definitely the most and best outcome that could have happened. The decisions that were made I think are pretty pre-wrong and those decisions are also against the law. She was relieved after being held at gunpoint and semi-assaulted. We'll call it you know, embound. So yes, then she was released and dropped off in you're an alleyway

near her home, which of course, of course, that's what somebody would do. The situation at college was a driving force, probably the number one driving force for the whole scenario. Stein has retained defense attorney Phil Dela Senti in a statement to KDKA. He says my client and her family are grateful for the support and kindness of all concerning recent events into

that end respectfully requests privacy at this time. So Chloe was arrested after making the confession and she was officially charged with making a false alarm to an agency of public safety, making a false report, obstructing administration of law, and disorderly conduct. And please believe after sending the text to her boyfriend and abandoning her car, she

walked about three miles to a friend's house and hid out in their garage until she decided to reappear. At this point, I'm not sure if anyone else assisted her or if anyone else was aware that she was going to do this. It's just not clear. However, at this point, police have announced that they do have video and cellular evidence to prove that she lied and all of that will be used in their case

against her. Chloe was arraigned on May 3rd, but was released from the Westmoreland County prison on a $25,000 bond. The woman charged with faking her own disappearance is free on bond. Chloe Stein if Jeanette was released this

morning. Jennifer Barasso is live at the state police barracks in Greensburg with the latest on this unusual story. Jen. That's exactly right. Can so Chloe Stein didn't talk when she was released from

jail. Her attorney, Phil Dillesente, isn't commenting about the case, but the people in the community have a lot of opinions, some feeling sorry for her, some say she made bad decisions, and some

punishment must happen. There has to be something wrong up here in order to go through all that. And at this point when I'm recording this, I'm not sure what the next steps will be. I highly doubt she will plead not guilty since she literally confessed. However, it's possible. Now to say that people in the community are upset about this is an understatement. People are pissed. And rightfully so.

I mean, the way that she just wasted everyone's emotional energy is just flat-out psychotic. And not to mention all the resources that she wasted since police really pulled out all the stops for her. She wasted, you know, everybody's resources, you know, police, rescue teams. I think she needs gel time, maybe some therapy. A lot of people were put at risk and it's

just unfortunate. I think that anytime that state police and local police put those efforts forth for something that's really unfounded, there should be some repercussions for that. And on that note, please say they are going to total up all of the costs that they put into searching for Chloe and they are planning to bring that to the district attorney and seek retribution. And me personally, and I know a lot of you will agree with me. I think Chloe should get prison time for this because I think that would not only teach her a lesson But also set an example for others that you cannot do this and if you do, there will be serious consequences

Even though no one was physically harmed and it didn't last that long a lot of resources were wasted and Emotional trauma is real in my opinion Retribution should just be the start of what Chloe should have to do as a result of her actions. She is an adult, she decided to do this, and there are consequences. But I'm curious what you guys think should happen. Do you think that her paying the money back is enough? Do you think prison time is too harsh of a punishment?

Let me know in the comments below. In my opinion, it is just such a slap in the face to people out there who actually have missing loved ones and have been through that trauma and maybe haven't gotten the resources that Chloe got right away. I mean, there are over 90,000 missing people in the United States right now and I want to know what those people would think of what Chloe did. In my opinion, doing something like this is just irreprehensible. And especially in the circumstances that she did it, it seems like such strange reasoning

to pull something like this off. And also, like I brought up earlier, do you think there's ever a scenario where faking your own disappearance is justifiable? I'm not sure there is. I don't know where I stand on that. It's just hard when I've seen so many people in such desperate situations and sometimes the resources out there just aren't enough. But again, I don't know if it ever is a good option. But I want to know what you guys think. I kind of want to start a conversation around this just because I'm curious.

It's something I've been pondering lately. If more information comes out about Chloe Steins case, I will leave extra info in the description box. If there's enough that comes out for a part two, maybe I'll do that. I highly doubt there's gonna be much more. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry.

I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry.

I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. I think this is pretty cut and dry. That is going to be it for me today, guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode. And make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. It really does help me out.

If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel, which will be linked, or you can just search Kendall Ray. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then, stay safe out there. Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is this. Let's go! Let's go! Show up on day one.

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