An ex-model has broken her silence after admitting to supplying false information to Wyoming police during a search for missing Irishman Cian McLaughlin.
The Dubliner was last seen on June 8 at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming when a climbing guide reported seeing someone matching his description hiking alone.
More than 45 helicopters joined the search mission, using rescue technology and thermal imaging cameras in a bid to locate the young man.
Read More: Distraught mum of Irish man who vanished on a hike one year ago fears he's dead
There were also around 70 park staff and several dog teams searching the park's trails, canyons, and woods for days - but were unsuccessful in tracking Cian down.
Rescuers claim that 40-year-old, Heather Mycoskie’s false report cost over 500 hours of vital lifesaving time in the search for Cian, and she has since broken her silence.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, she said: "I did, in fact, lie. I submitted a false statement, but it was all based on information that I had received."
She added: "I'm extremely sorry, and I would love to apologise, but I lied.
“I hope that his family can understand that I wasn't trying to hurt the search or mislead anybody."
Ms. Mycoskie claimed to have seen Cian on the day that he disappeared and told officers that he was headed in the direction of Taggart Lake in Grand Teton National Park.
She said that she had spoken with Mr. McLaughlin when she saw him and claimed that he was planning on jumping off his favourite rock at the lake.
Ms. Mycoskie was handed a $17,600 fine for providing false information and is now banned from visiting the park in Wyoming for five years.
A National Park Service statement has since said search crews wasted hundreds of hours following her false lead, which wasted valuable life-saving time.
In the statement, a park spokesman said: "As a direct result of Mycoskie’s false report, approximately 532 hours were spent conducting searches, managing search efforts, conducting follow-up investigations, and completing associated reports.
"This wasted valuable time that could have been focused on searching areas of higher probability, and it cost the federal government approximately $17,600."
Speaking on Tuesday, the former model said she had paid the fine, and agreed that it “was definitely necessary".
However, she said she was surprised the story was coming out now and believes that it was to coincide with the year anniversary of Cian’s disappearance.
"That this is coming out as news now is surprising, and I totally owned up and apologized for my mistake and admitted that I lied, but I did it with the intent of trying to help."
Get breaking news to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter
