A State College resident received a suspicious 2:30 a.m. phone call from a female who said her place was a mess, her leg was bleeding, and her name was "Cindy," the woman reported to police Friday.
The female caller sounded Asian and hung up immediately after identifying herself as "Cindy," the woman said.
Ferguson Police followed this lead, which sounded as if it was a tip in the investigation for Cindy Song, the 21-year-old Penn State student who has been missing since Nov. 1.
But police ruled this call a prank after tracing it to two State College 17-year-old females, Det. Brian Sprinkle said.
In following the tip, officers determined the call came from a cell phone, according to a release from the Ferguson Township Police Department.
The cell phone was then traced to a local residence, police said. The State College resident's daughter and another 17-year-old female were identified as the callers and cited for disorderly conduct, Sprinkle said.
This tip was one of few recent developments in Song's case.
"The case is getting cold very fast," Sprinkle said.
Sprinkle said this is the first tip the Ferguson Police have been able to identify as false. "There was one other time we believe we got some exaggerated information, but we couldn't prove it — that the intent was false," Sprinkle said.
The message the police are sending, Sprinkle said, is that the department will not tolerate pranks of this nature.
"If we can prove it, we will identify the people and they will be arrested," Sprinkle said.
In the State College Police Department, 911 supervisor Jim Baldwin said his department has not received any pranks of this nature.
Since Song's disappearance, search efforts include a trip to Philadelphia and multiple missions with dogs in the woods around her apartment.
Song was last seen in a white skirt, pink top, brown knee-high boots and a red-hooded coat. She is 5'1" tall, weighs 115 lbs., and has been missing since a friend dropped her off at her apartment at 349 W. Clinton Ave. on Nov. 1.
Police are asking anyone with information about Song to call 237-1172 or 1-800-479-0050.
