Preston Kelley, a 23 year-old man from Alabama, faked his own kidnapping in an attempt to get money from his grandmother, according to police.
On Monday, Kelley texted his grandmother a photo that seemed to show him tied up and beaten in the woods of Tennessee, The Associated Press reported. He asked her to send $1,000 so he wouldn’t be killed.
Instead of sending the money, his grandmother contacted investigators because she was concerned about his safety. Those investigators were able to figure out that Kelley wasn’t in Tennessee and the kidnapping was a hoax, the AP reported.
Kelley was found later that day in Lauderdale County, Alabama, and arrested on charges of first degree extortion, according to the AP.
Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office investigator Lt. Brad Potts said Kelley deliberately wounded himself to further the hoax and that accomplices may have been involved.
"Through the investigation we determined he was just trying to get money from his grandmother," Potts told WAAY31 News. "We started investigating it and were able to track down where he had been all day, and we determined it was all a hoax at that point."
Potts said that Kelley maintained his story about the kidnapping throughout the questioning and tried to convince officers it really happened.
Kelley is being held at Lauderdale County Detention Center on $1,000 bond, WAAY reported.