NEW HARTFORD — A New Hartford Central School District cross country meet was cut short Saturday, September 17 after authorities say they were searching for an adult male reportedly exhibiting suspicious behavior. After a police investigation, the report was deemed fraudulent.

According to a post on the New Hartford Police Department (NHPD) Facebook page, police responded around 10  a.m on Saturday, September 17 to an incident that had reportedly occurred during a cross country meet taking place on the Perry Jr. High School campus on Weston Road.

New Hartford Police Chief Ronald Fontaine stated that New Hartford Police officers who were on campus at the time working a security detail at the sporting event received a report that a white male dressed in camouflage who was in possession of a handgun lured a juvenile student race participant from a visiting school into the woods. The juvenile stated that he was able to run away from the suspect and that he became lost in a wooded area.

The juvenile was located by a civilian off of the school campus area and 911 was contacted. The track meet was quickly canceled and participants and spectators were evacuated by police and school officials. The juvenile was not injured.

Authorities say New Hartford Police officers and New Hartford Fire Department members quickly set up a perimeter and a command post and police began to investigate the report. The Utica Police Department and New York State Police assisted in the area and also provided K-9 officers to assist NHPD with a search of the wooded area. The Oneida County Sheriff’s Office Drone Unit also assisted in the search.

“During an interview at the New Hartford Police Department, the juvenile admitted to a New Hartford Police Investigator that he had fabricated the story and that none of what was initially reported to police was true,” NHPD stated in its Facebook announcement.

The juvenile will be charged with falsely reporting an incident, which is a misdemeanor. The juvenile will be referred to the Oneida County Probation Department to answer this charge. Authorities say they will not be releasing the juvenile’s name because of age.