‘YouTube Challenge’ results in felony charge & arrest of 11-year-old in Florida

An 11-year-old girl from Port Orange has been arrested after texting 911 on Wednesday morning for falsely reporting that her friend had been kidnapped by an armed male behind the wheel of a white van on South I-95 in Oak Hill, says the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
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According to a release shared by the Sheriff's Office on July 26, the ordeal began at 9:45 am when a dispatcher with the Sheriff's Communications Center advised of a suspicious incident reported via text message. The girl said that her 14-year-old friend has been abducted and that she was following in a blue Jeep.

For an hour and a half, the 11-year-old continued to text updates, including a description of the male suspect, noting that he was carrying a gun. Multiple deputies responded, along with Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach, and Port Orange Police, and Air One, to search for the suspect vehicle; however, no van was found.

Deputies were later directed to a home in Port Orange by using investigative tracking of the girl's cell phone used to text 911. Deputies arrived at the home on Poppy Lane at 10:23 am, contacting the girl's father, who said she was inside with her family.

When deputies approached the girl, she was holding her cell phone, which was ringing as she walked out to meet with responding deputies. When answered, Volusia Sheriff's Dispatch was on the line, verifying that deputies were on the scene.

Born on April 6 of 2012, Ava Rose Langone told deputies she got the idea to prank 911 through a YouTube Challenge and thought it "would be funny."

However, Sheriff Mike Chitwood wasn't amused by the situation.

"This kind of prank activity is dangerous," said Chitwood "we're going to investigate every incident but today it wasted valuable resources that might have helped someone else who legitimately needed our help."

11-year-old Ava is charged with making a false police report concerning the use of a firearm in a violent manner, a felony, as well as misuse of 911, a misdemeanor. She was transported to the Family Recourse Center for processing, then transferred to the Volusia Regional Juvenile Detention Center, the release states.

The sheriff warns parents how important it is to closely monitor kids’ use of social media. The Volusia Sheriff’s Office is hosting several community forums — beginning Monday, July 31 — to help parents protect their kids from internet dangers.

The meeting schedule can be found below. Each event will run from 6 pm to 7:30 pm:

• Monday, July 31
  • First NSB Church, 200 Faulkner St., New Smyrna Beach
• Monday, Aug. 7
  • Tomoka Christian Church, 1101 E. Plymouth Ave., DeLand
• Wednesday, Aug. 9
  • Deltona City Hall, 2345 Providence Blvd., Deltona
• Monday, Aug. 28
  • DeBary City Hall, 16 Colomba Road, DeBary
• Tuesday, Aug. 29
  • Mission San Jose of Saint Peter, 165 Emporia Road, Pierson

To read the release from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office in full, click here.
Article by Rachael Volpe