Warrant issued for Howland mother accused of falsely reporting school threat

A woman who was already in trouble with the law for allegedly raising false alarms about a potential school shooting threat is in even more trouble now, after missing a scheduled court appearance on Thursday. 

Forty-one-year-old Vanessa Ackley was facing one charge of making false alarms after allegedly telling 21 News and other news agencies that "Howland Middle School is in immediate danger for a school shooting".

She was previously arraigned in Warren Municipal Court on the charge filed by Howland police who began investigating when the FBI asked them about the woman's claims that the police and the feds were ignoring evidence that her estranged husband was planning a shooting at the school where one of her children is a student.

Ackley was scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, but according to an online docket, never appeared. A warrant has been issued for her arrest. 

According to the police report, Ackley contacted local media outlets claiming that "a panel of experts met in California, including a judge, ex-homicide detective, and an investigative reporter...and unanimously concluded that the Howland Middle School is in immediate danger for a school shooting."

The email went on to say that "the threats are on tape, and the Howland police department and the FBI have hidden the threats for months. This is a real threat. The Howland police refuse to pick the suspect up. He is nearby. This is not a hoax."

21 News received those emails from Ackley last month.

Detectives interviewed Ackley's estranged husband who denied making any threats, saying he doesn't own a gun and said he believed his wife was spreading the allegations because she is filing for a divorce.

Police also interviewed Vanessa Ackley who according to detectives admitted that she distributed the allegation to various news media.

However, she could not produce any documents proving that her husband was planning a shooting at the school.

Detectives say they also listened to Ackley's recordings of conversations with her husband and pointed out that she was the only one to bring up the subject of a school shooting.

Howland police have also supplied the FBI with a copy of their report.