A woman who reported an attempted abduction near the Greene County Intermediate School in Grand Junction last Sept. 29 was sentenced in Greene County district court Jan. 23 after she changed her plea to guilty to giving false report to a public entity.
Tauwana Rae Laue, 34, of Grand Junction was sentenced to 365 days in jail. All but two days was suspended and she was placed on probation for two years. She was fined $315 with a $110.25 surcharge. The fine and surcharge were suspended. Laue must pay a sheriff’s fee for the jail time she serves, restitution to be determined, $90 restitution for her court appointed attorney’s fees, and $140 court costs. (Sentencing was done by the Honorable Adria A. Kester.)
Tauwana Rae Laue, 34, of Grand Junction reported to the Greene County Law Enforcement Center that she was walking a friend’s dog while her 3-year-old daughter rode a bicycle on Hager St near the school at about 11:30 am. The youngster had ridden out in front of her mother when a man wearing a ski mask got out of a white van and grabbed her off her bicycle. The mother released the dog, who ran to the assailant and bit him in the arm. The man let go of the girl and got back in the van. The van left the scene.
As a result of that report, the Grand Junction school, along with the elementary and middle schools in Jefferson, were put on external lockdown, and multiple law enforcement agencies began scouring the area for the vehicle and the two black men who were reportedly in it. The Iowa State Patrol did an aerial search.
Laue’s story was similar to reports of an attempted abduction the previous day in Webster County.
Greene County sheriff Steve Haupert soon realized that parts of the woman’s story didn’t make sense. He launched an investigation that showed Laue’s report to be false and she was charged a week later.
