Woman lied about spotting suspects in Fox Lake manhunt: authorities

A north suburban woman made a phony report to authorities that she spotted two suspects in the Fox Lake cop-killer manhunt late Wednesday, prompting a massive police response in Volo for five hours into early Thursday, according to the Lake County sheriff’s office.

About 9:20 p.m., Kristin B. Kiefer, 30, called police and claimed she had been driving north on Route 12 south of Route 120 in Volo when she had to pull over for car trouble, sheriff’s office spokesman Detective Chris Covelli said.

Kiefer, of Vernon Hills, reported seeing two men near a cornfield on the side of the road who then tried to steal her vehicle but ran into the cornfield when they thought she was calling police, Covelli said.

Police search in and around a building near the defunct cement plant where Lt. Joe Gliniewicz was killed as they continue to follow leads in his murder on Sept. 2, 2015 in Fox Lake, Illinois. | Scott Olson/Getty Images

At least 85 federal, state and local law enforcement authorities arrived and searched the area along with 11 canine and three air units for about five hours, police said. Nothing was found.

Kiefer eventually admitted fabricating the story “as she wanted attention from a family where she is employed as a nanny,” Covelli said.

She chose the site because it was just miles away from the site of the slaying of Fox Lake Police Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz, which has spurred a massive manhunt for three suspects in the attack since Tuesday morning.

Kiefer was charged with disorderly conduct and falsifying a police report. She posted a $100,000 bond Thursday and was released from the Lake County Jail.