Viral cases that the police investigation ended up debunking

Santo Domingo. – In recent years, multiple complaints that went viral on social media and generated collective alarm have been denied or clarified after investigations carried out by the National Police, evidencing a growing pattern of fabricated, exaggerated, or misinterpreted stories. Self-kidnappings, false disappearances, alleged abductions of minors, non-existent assaults, and unfounded reports of abuse have occupied headlines and digital trends, but in several cases the outcome has been very different from the initial narrative.

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One of the most recent episodes was the alleged attempted robbery of Esteisis Peña Santana, known as “La Demente 12-12”, a version that was denied this Wednesday by the authorities. According to the preliminary report, the young woman initially stated that around 2:30 in the morning she was intercepted by two individuals on a motorcycle, who attempted to steal her belongings, managing to take a black wallet with a perfume inside, and that during the event they shot her before fleeing. However, as part of the investigative follow-up carried out by members of the Homicide Division and the Scientific Police, several family members who were with the victim at the time of the event were taken for investigation purposes, who offered a different version of the events.

Report of alleged kidnapping in La Vega

In the year 2023, the National Police issued an official statement denying that the kidnapping of a minor had occurred in a community in the province of La Vega, as was widely spread on social media and through messages forwarded by messaging applications. According to the authorities, after the investigations it was determined that there was no kidnapping, and that the viralized version did not coincide with the real facts. The Police explained that the incident was related to an attempted robbery in a home, without the abduction of any minor, thus denying information that generated collective fear and alarm in the population.

Woman faked kidnapping and transfer to Haiti

In December 2024, the National Police reported that a woman had simulated her kidnapping and alleged transfer to Haiti, with the aim of financially extorting her relatives. According to the official report, the alleged victim invented the story to obtain money and pay off personal debts, some of them linked, according to the involved party’s own version, to a witchcraft ritual. The case was dismantled after the woman voluntarily appeared before the authorities, after not receiving the payment demanded by the false captors.

Minors reported as missing

Between the years 2022 and 2024, the National Police reported several cases of minors declared as missing, who were later found safe and sound, after it was verified that they had voluntarily absented themselves. In at least one of these cases, the authorities confirmed that a teenager had decided to live with her partner, without kidnapping, retention, or any crime. These events led to search operations, mass dissemination on social media, and national concern, before being clarified by the investigation agencies.

Child abduction attempts

In the year 2019, the National Police was forced to issue a public clarification in response to the proliferation of viral reports about alleged attempts to kidnap children en different parts of the country. After conducting the corresponding investigations, the institution reported that there were no formal complaints or evidence to support those reports, and that the events spread on social media and message chains did not occur, being rumors that generated collective panic without a real basis.