Australia: bomb shackled to teenage girl’s neck was a “hoax” device, police say

Police in Australia say the suspected explosive device used in a bizarre bomb scare involving a teenage girl from a wealthy Sydney family was an “elaborate hoax.”

Madeleine Pulver, 18, was found at her family home Wednesday with a suspected bomb shackled to her neck. The “bomb” took police 10 hours to remove in a delicate operation that required help from British bomb-disposal experts.

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Australian police previously said that a balaclava-clad intruder had entered the family’s home in Mosman, one of Sydney’s wealthiest suburbs, and put the box-shaped device around the teenager’s neck, telling her it was a bomb.

The intruder left behind a note that said he would detonate the “bomb” if she tried to escape.

Police are reportedly investigating the possibility that the bomb hoax was part of an extortion attempt, but say the motive remains unclear.

"A very, very elaborate hoax as it turned out," New South Wales Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch told reporters in describing the incident, the Telegraph says.

"But it was made and certainly gave the appearance of a legitimate improvised explosive device … We had to treat it seriously until we could prove otherwise,” he said.

"The offender went to a lot of trouble for a particular reason, but what that reason was, police are still working to determine," Murdoch told ABC radio.

Police have since said that the suspected “bomb” did not contain explosives, the BBC reports.

Madeleine Pulver, who was forced to remain in one position during the 10-hour ordeal, was taken to a hospital for checks before being released on Thursday.