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(Eagle Mountain-AP) -- U-S Attorney Paul Warner won't charge Eagle Mountain Mayor Kelvin Bailey for claiming to have been kidnapped -- a story the mayor says was meant only for his wife's ears.
After reviewing the case today Warner's office issued a statement saying federal charges do NOT appear to be appropriate. The F-B-I helped work the case Friday, when Bailey told his wife he had been abducted, but by Friday night Bailey admitted it was a hoax.
Utah County Attorney Kay Bryson said today he was waiting for a sheriff's report before deciding whether Bailey can be held responsible.
It's a crime to make a false report to police, but Bailey gave the story to his wife, who notified authorities.
Bailey blames his lapse on job stress as mayor of Eagle Mountain, one of Utah's newest towns and a planned community 15 miles south of Salt Lake City.
Bailey said he was kidnapped while on a pheasant hunting trip, but the hunting season for pheasants ended last fall.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
