Barrington Police received a 911 call from a husband and wife who were walking their dog in Veterans Park on New Year’s Day at about 9 a.m. when they came across a man tied to a post. 

The husband and wife told police that the man said his sister had played a prank on him and he asked them to untie him. They were a bit apprehensive and decided to call police for assistance. 

The callers went to the parking lot near the Bayside YMCA to meet with police and show them where the man was, but when they got to the spot, the man was gone. Police said there was a length of rope left behind. 

Police officers later located the suspect, a 27-year-old Riverside man, walking on the bike path. Officers spoke to the man and said his story was very inconsistent — he said he met a girl online and she tied him up. He later said that was a lie, police said. 

Officers interviewed the man and later released him — police said he had not done anything criminal.