Post about Vancouver sex assault was ‘misinformation,’ woman fell off scooter: VPD

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Police Department says a viral social media post claiming a woman had been violently abducted and sexually assaulted in East Vancouver in early November was based on “misinformation.” 

Police say they reviewed security footage and interviewed witnesses, and found the woman who was allegedly assaulted had actually fallen off an electric scooter and hit her face on the pavement. 

The department says the post “stoked community fear” after alleging the woman had been kidnapped after leaving an East Vancouver pub. 

Police say the post alleged the woman had been abducted, sexually assaulted and severely beaten before being left in a park elsewhere in the city.

But officers say they spoke to the injured woman, who had been drinking at the pub near Victoria Drive and Powell Street, and she confirmed she fell off a scooter after hitching a ride with a passerby. 

The department says the woman, who was visiting from Mexico, was taken to the hospital and has since returned home. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 29, 2023. 

The Canadian Press