Police unclear why student lied about abduction

An Ohio State University student accused of making up a story about being kidnapped from campus and taken to Tennessee told the truth when he realized how much trouble he was causing, authorities said Wednesday.

Hiroshi Hayashi, 21, of suburban Grove City, was reported missing by his family last week.

A junior majoring in computer information science, Hayashi appeared distraught Tuesday morning when he walked into an Athens, Tenn., police station wearing the same clothes he was wearing when he disappeared, officers said.

“I think he understood that he had caused a lot of people a lot of worry, and this snowball was not going to slow down, so he told the truth,” Athens detective Scott Webb said.

Webb said he did not know why Hayashi first reported being kidnapped. Hayashi did not tell authorities about any problems he may have been having back home. He told police he wanted to go to Athens because he saw Internet pictures of the small city about 400 miles south of Columbus and liked the scenery, Webb said.

Hayashi’s disappearance prompted family members to issue tearful, public pleas for help finding him. Police found his car in an Ohio State parking lot.

He was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday morning in McMinn County General Sessions Court on a felony charge of filing a false report, Webb said. His family was traveling to Tennessee to be with him Wednesday, Webb said.