Attempted 'Sex Trafficking Kidnapping' Report Not True: Police

LIBERTYVILLE, IL -- A post on Facebook has been circulating in recent days that you may have seen. And which may have alarmed you. The post references an incident where a woman went into the Shell True North gas station on Route 45 in Libertyville and told a worker she had been pulled over by, what she believed to be, an marked, white police vehicle.

The post goes on to state several men tried to get her out of her car and into their vehicle. And that police believed it could be a "possible sex trafficking kidnapping."

Authorities on Wednesday said the post contained some discrepancies. While local authorities received a report Saturday night of a woman who came into the Shell gas station, and reported that two men impersonating police officers tried to kidnap her, they have never believed "this may have been an attempted 'sex trafficking kidnapping' incident," according to a Wednesday post on the Libertyville Police Department's Facebook page.

• Get more news from Libertyville Patch: Follow us on Facebook and sign up for our daily newsletters and breaking news updates.

Officers did interview the woman and determined she was "likely having a mental health crisis" at the time of the incident but that the attempted kidnapping did not occur. The officers who interviewed her are both trained in crisis intervention, police said. Libertyville paramedics also responded to the scene and treated the woman for minor cuts and bruises. She received the injuries while walking in a nearby bush along the road, authorities said.

The woman was taken to Advocate Condell Medical Center for further evaluation and treatment.

Authorities said that while the "widespread Facebook post" was likely "well-intentioned," it was not completely accurate. The police department's Wednesday Facebook post was meant to "correct and clarify" that information.

"The Libertyville Police Department is a strong advocate of social media and uses it on a regular basis to reach out to our community. If you ever have any doubt or question about a social media post, please do not hesitate to contact us," according to the Facebook post.