London - An actress faked her own kidnapping in a case echoing the plot of the hit film Gone Girl.
In a desperate attempt to win back her ex-boyfriend, Jessica Lind drove to a remote spot and sent him a chilling text saying: ‘Let the games begin - find Jess.’
A court heard she hoped the message would appear to come from kidnappers and prompt Jonathan Gray to come to her aid.
But her plan backfired horribly when a police hunt was launched and an innocent man was arrested and held for 15 hours.
The 22-year-old actress had to admit the tale was a pack of lies, telling police: ‘I just want Johnny back in my life.’
On Wednesday Lind narrowly escaped a jail sentence for wasting police time. The investigation cost the taxpayer more than £15 000 and 250 man hours.
Southampton Crown Court heard the actress dreamt up the plan in September last year after she split from her boyfriend.
She drove to a lay-by in Soberton, Hampshire - over 20 miles from her home - and wrote a series of messages to Mr Gray appearing to come from kidnappers.
A friend of Mr Gray contacted police and officers found her ‘dazed and confused’ in her car. Lind, who is a member of Romsey Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society, claimed she had been knocked unconscious.
Although hospital doctors said she was not seriously injured she stuck to her kidnap story.
In a three-hour interview with police, Lind claimed she had previously been approached by a stalker in a Costa coffe shop near her home in Romsey, Hants.
Police subsequently arrested John Hodgson, who has mental health problems. The actress came clean and admitted making up the whole story saying: ‘I just want Johnny back in my life and thought he would be able to look after me because he thought someone was going to hurt me.
‘It got worse and worse and I didn’t know how to end it.’
Mr Hodgson, who was held for 15 hours on suspicion of stalking and kidnap, was released and Lind was charged.
She admitted perverting the course of justice but Judge Nicholas Rowland sentenced her for wasting police time instead, following recommendations from another judge. Lind was handed a four-month prison term, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work.
Judge Rowland told her: ‘You became extremely depressed and suicidal which led you to behave in a way that was out of character which had consequences not just for you and your boyfriend but the wider public.
‘Mr Hodgson was held for 15 hours and his freedom taken away as a result of what you did while 250 hours of police time was wasted when they had better things to do. People who do that expect to go to prison. It’s a close shave for you.’
In mitigation, the court heard the break-up caused Lind to suffer from mental health problems including depression and suicidal thoughts.
Daily Mail