A Jet Blue flight attendant is being accused of faking an abduction so she wouldn’t have to quarantine following her COVID-19 diagnosis.
As the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) reported, Kalina Collier tested positive for COVID-19 upon her Jan. 28 arrival in Jamaica and was required by the Ministry of Health Wellness to quarantine at the Ocean Coral Spring in Trelawn for free. During her two-week period of isolation, however, she took to Instagram, causing concern when she said she feared being sex trafficked as she was mistreated and kidnapped — an account that law enforcement officials have since countered.
“The police are advising members of the public to dismiss as rumour information that has been circulated via social and other media that American national Kalina Collier was kidnapped in Jamaica,” the JCF said in a statement. “The police assert the information is baseless and mischievous.”
“She is not, nor was she at any time, in any danger,” the statement continued.
On Sunday (Feb. 14), the end of Collier’s quarantine period, the flight attendant made the return to New York and issued a statement in which she dismissed abduction rumors.
“I have said a long time that I was never missing, nor was I kidnapped. I’ve tried to keep silent because is something that will be handled legally…,” she wrote. “Following my negative Covid[-19] test, the hotel proceeded to cover their tracks once word got out and forced me to stay at the resort for the remainder of my quarantine.”
Collier said that she took to Instagram to seek counsel regarding the harassment she faced at the hotel, but Ocean Coral Spring workers consistenly tried to get her to retract her statement.
“These people will say anything to save face. I am here to say nothing I said in my live was a lie,” she said, adding the hotel leaked her close friends’ numbers and sent police to scare her into making a statement. “The proof is in the pudding, and I have nothing further to say on this situation. For those who were concerned, thank you.”
An investigation is underway to determine whether Collier violated any protocols.
“We hold each JetBlue crewmember to the highest standards when it comes to personal integrity and we are conducting an urgent investigation into the actions of our crewmember,” the statement read, per the Jamaica Gleanor.