11-year-old Port Orange girl arrested for false kidnapping report.

Written by Kristen Schmutz

Belden Communications News

Ava Rose Langone, an 11-year-old girl from Port Orange was arrested on Wednesday for falsely reporting the abduction of her 14-year-old friend by an armed male driving a white van on South I-95 in Oak Hill.

The saga began at 9:45 a.m. when a dispatcher at the Sheriff’s Communications Center received a text message reporting a suspicious incident involving an alleged kidnapping. Ava informed police that she was following the kidnapper in a blue Jeep, and over the next hour and a half, the girl continued to send updates, describing the alleged male suspect, and claiming he had a gun.

There was a massive response from various agencies, including Sheriff's Office deputies, officers from Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach, and Port Orange Police Departments, along with Air One, searching for the alleged suspect vehicle. However, their efforts turned out to be unsuccessful as there was not a van fitting the description found. After being unsuccessful in their search for the alleged kidnapper, detectives tracked the cell phone used to text 911 to a residence in Port Orange. At 10:23 a.m., they arrived at a home on Poppy Lane in Port Orange, where police questioned Ava's father, who informed deputies that Ava was inside with the rest of the family.

As deputies approached Ava, they observed her holding her cell phone, which was ringing. The call was from the Volusia Sheriff’s Communications Center, confirming law enforcement was on the scene and confirming that Ava was behind the false report.

Upon questioning, Ava admitted that she got the idea to make the prank call from a YouTube challenge and thought it would be amusing. However, Sheriff Mike Chitwood did not find the situation funny.

“This kind of prank activity is dangerous – we are going to investigate every incident, but today it wasted valuable resources that might have helped someone else who legitimately needed our help.”

Sheriff Chitwood is warning parents about the importance of closely monitoring their children's use of social media and the internet. The Volusia Sheriff’s Office will host community forums over the next few weeks to help parents protect their kids from online dangers.

As a consequence of her actions, Ava Rose Langone now faces serious charges of making a false police report concerning the use of a firearm in a violent manner, which is a felony, as well as misuse of 911, a misdemeanor. After processing at the Family Resource Center, Ava is now in custody at the Volusia Regional Juvenile Detention Center.