"The person reporting the incident came forward to say that the incident never occurred. Our continuing investigation verifies this," OUPD Chief Michael Martinsen said.

Martinsen said the case remains open to determine the full circumstances leading to the false report, but he reinforced that OUPD no longer has concerns that it involved an abduction. Anyone who might have been implicated has been cleared.

Martinsen stressed the care investigators took with this case and the importance of reporting any incident of this sort.

"We take any such allegations very seriously and work hard as a department and an institution to make it safe and comfortable for students to report an assault or harassment that has occurred," Martinsen said.

The original complaint indicated that four males had abducted a female near Grover Center on the evening of Feb. 7 and taken her to Emeriti Park, running away when startled.

To report a sexual assault, contact 911 or call the police directly (OUPD at 740-593-1911 or Athens Police Department at 740-593-6606). If you have a personal experience that you wish to discuss in confidence, call Ohio University's Counseling and Psychological Services at 740-593-1616.