Sept. 03--A Vernon Hills nanny claimed to have spotted two possible suspects in the killing of a Fox Lake police officer, launching a massive police search of cornfields Wednesday night in Lake County before she admitted lying to get the attention of the family she worked for, according to authorities.
The search by about 85 officers and three helicopters near Volo was called off after five hours and the woman, Kristin Kiefer, 30, was charged with disorderly conduct and falsifying a police report, according to the Lake County sheriff's office.
The search began around 9:20 p.m. after Kiefer told police she was headed north on Route 12 near Route 120 in Volo when she pulled over because of car trouble, the sheriff's office said.
Kiefer said she saw two men near a cornfield on the side of the road. They tried to get into her car, she said, but then fled into the cornfield because they feared she was calling the police, authorities said.
The area is less than 10 miles south of Fox Lake, where Lt. Charles Joseph Gliniewicz was killed Tuesday morning. Authorities have said he was chasing three men when he was shot. No one is reported in custody.
Based on the woman's report, Lake County sheriff's deputies set up a perimeter as about 85 federal, state and local law enforcement officers began searching the area, the office said. Eleven canine units and three helicopters also were called in.
Officers blocked southbound Route 12 at Route 120, and Gilmer Road south of Route 120. Squad cars came from as far away as Northbrook, Palatine, Lincolnshire and Waukegan.
The canine units were unable to detect a scent, and the helicopters were unable to locate anyone in the area, the sheriff's office said.
Kiefer stuck by her story but "through further investigation ... it was learned Kiefer lied about the entire account of her events," authorities said. "Kiefer informed detectives she fabricated the events as she wanted attention from a family where she is employed as a nanny.
"Additionally, she indicated she chose this location to fabricate the event, as she was aware of the death of a police officer in the area."
Kiefer, of the first block of Tanwood Court in Vernon Hills, is scheduled to appear in bond court Thursday.
