Authorities: Mont. man staged own kidnap hoax
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Montana authorities are seeking a man they say staged an elaborate kidnapping hoax to avoid sentencing in an unrelated arson case.
The Livingston Enterprise reports Lionel Scott Ellison is wanted on a felony charge of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
Ellison was found bound and with a bag over his head on the banks of the Yellowstone River near Lockwood the day before he was to be sentenced in May 2008.
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The Billings man told authorities he was bound, beaten and thrown in the river, but prosecutors say he staged the scenario.
Ellison was given a five-year suspended sentence for setting a 2007 fire that caused extensive damage to a former girlfriend's car.
An arrest warrant has been issued for him.
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Information from: Livingston Enterprise, http://www.livingstonenterprise.com