Woman found along road won't face more charges, Coralville police say

Coralville police will not seek additional charges against a woman they believe provided false information to them when she was found lying along Highway 6 in Coralville last week.

Coralville police Chief Barry Bedford said Thursday that the woman -- now identified as Amber C. Vincentz, 29, address unknown -- provided the wrong name to police, and fabricated a story about being abducted and dumped along the highway.

Though they did not release her name right away, Bedford said police identified the woman as Vincentz on June 15, after determining she had provided them with a false name days before. Bedford said the department then charged her with providing a false report to police on Saturday.

Vincentz pleaded guilty to that charge on Sunday, and court documents say she was sentenced to one day in jail with credit for one day served. She was then released from custody.

On Wednesday, Vincentz was arrested after police found her walking along the shoulder of  Interstate 380 in Cedar Rapids just after midnight. An officer's report said she she seemed "dazed," and she was transported to Mercy Medical Center, where she refused treatment. She was later arrested for providing a false name to police, which she later admitted to doing.

Once at the jail, the woman complained of shoulder pain, was taken back to the hospital, and later re-booked.

Bedford said Cedar Rapids police informed him of her arrest, as they believed she was the same woman officers found in Coralville, and Coralville police helped them to identify her.

Though Vincentz originally told police she had been abducted, assaulted, and dumped along Highway 6 on June 13, further investigation by Coralville and Iowa City police and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation determined she had not been abducted. Bedford said the woman eventually recanted her original story.

However, Bedford said the department does not anticipate filing any additional charges against the woman for providing false information to police.

"This woman is extremely troubled and needs help, and she's not going to get that type of help sitting in a jail cell," Bedford said.

Though a great deal of manpower was used in the investigation, Beford said he is satisfied that the department has determined that a predator was not involved in the case.

"We could load up (on charges), but we don't feel that's serving the interest of justice," Bedford said. "Unfortunately we had an awful lot of investigative man hours in this, but at least we feel confident now that people around here are safe from the potential of having someone running around here and kidnapping somebody."