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BOUNTIFUL -- Bountiful police say a man who told them he was kidnapped by two men who threatened to kill him wasn't telling the truth. They say his story was a hoax and he's now in trouble for filing a false report with police.
Bountiful police issued an Endangered Person Advisory for Joseph Paschall, 30, around 9 p.m. Tuesday. They thought he may have been kidnapped after he called his wife saying he was in trouble.
Lt. Randy Pickett, with the Bountiful Police Department, said, "She received a telephone message that he was being held against his will and they wanted to harm him."
Officers went to the house and found one of the family's two dogs dead from stab wounds. They also found a note typed on the computer by Paschall. He wrote he was being kidnapped and this was goodbye.
Pickett says they found the injured man Tuesday night near the Mt. Olympus trailhead near 5900 South and Wasatch Boulevard in Salt Lake County. Paschall had cuts and bruises on his head and was taken to the University Hospital for treatment. His car was found just a few feet away.
Police have since interviewed Paschall and found his story to be false. They say he killed his own dog and staged his abduction because of some personal problems he was having in his marriage.
Officers have arrested Paschall on charges of animal cruelty and filing a false police report.
Compiled with information from Randall Jeppesen and Anne Forester.
