‘Help me please,’ man pleads on Facebook. But his alleged kidnapping was fake, cops say

More than 4,000 people shared a man’s Facebook post, in which he stated he had been kidnapped at gunpoint in Arkansas.

But his post, according to police in Helena-West Helena, was a hoax. Now Fredrick Gamble faces charges for the fake social media post.

“Help me please,” Gamble said in his post at 5:22 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Oct. 25. “I was just kidnapped walking in Helena. I’m in the back of a gray van. These guys pulled guns on me & forced me inside.”

Police in the Memphis-area city learned of the post a few hours later when Gamble’s mother reported her son as missing, according to a news release.

Investigators soon learned Gamble was at a home in the city with his 42-year-old girlfriend. Police determined Gamble made up the details of his Facebook post.

Gamble, 26, was charged with filing a false report, possession of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance, police said. He was also charged with fleeing and various traffic violations.

His girlfriend was also arrested and charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution, according to police.