Quinn Gray case subject of NBC special

Kevin Kelshaw reported to Historic City News today that investigators with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation and other northeast Florida law enforcement agencies will be featured in next Friday’s edition of “Dateline” on NBC.

Marking the start of the 20th season of the successful news magazine, reporter Josh Mankiewicz covers the story of the hoax-abduction of Quinn Hannah Gray that sent more than 150 detectives and uniformed officers scrambling to her “rescue” on September 4, 2009.

In a special two-hour program, Mankiewicz tells what happened in Ponte Vedra Beach over the Labor Day weekend in 2009.

The official NBC teaser, “Kicking off the 20th season of Dateline with a 2-hour special report, Josh tells the story of Quinn Gray; the mother of two little girls who was kidnapped from her multi-million dollar ocean front home in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. A community in shock, over 150 investigators spent several harrowing days trying to save Gray’s life. In a story straight out of a Hollywood movie, this high-stakes case has a shocking ending.”

Historic City News readers followed the drama over the 2009 Labor Day weekend when Gray claimed she was abducted from her oceanfront home and was being held for ransom; which she tried to get her husband, the chief operating officer of Advanced Homecare, to pay.

NOW THE SPOILER:

The entire ordeal was part of a scheme to extort $50,000 from her then-husband, Reid Allen Gray.

Now known as “Quinn Renee Hanna”, she is divorced from her ex-husband and her incredibly exaggerated story has come full-circle.

She plead “no contest” Friday, February 11, 2011 to charges that, in reality, she faked her kidnapping; in cahoots with her alleged kidnapper, and co-defendant, 27 year-old Jasmin Osmanovic. Both were charged with extortion.

The pair has admitted faking the kidnapping — when they were actually spending time together in a Clay County motel near Orange Park. Gray received a sentence of seven-years probation; while Osmanovic was sentenced to six-years probation.

Last week, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Crisis Negotiation Team was recognized with an award from the Florida Association of Hostage Negotiators after a peer review of this criminal case; which was selected against stiff competition.

Sheriff Shoar said this case was one of the most complex of his career. “Understanding Gray’s thinking was near impossible,” Shoar told reporters last week at the award presentation.

Photo credits: © 2011 Historic City News contributed photograph by SJSO