Judge denies bond for woman who claimed to be long-lost girl

TOPEKA, Kan. -- A woman accused of perpetrating a cruel hoax on an Indiana couple, claiming to be their long-lost daughter, was ordered held on $100,000 bond Friday.

A Kansas judge called Donna Lynette Walker a flight risk, noting at least one previous conviction for creating a false alarm and her past psychiatric care, including three visits this year to the state mental hospital.

"She's in my opinion, a potential flight risk based on what I think her mental condition is," Shawnee County District Judge Thomas Conklin said.

Walker, clad in a dark blue jumpsuit and shackled at the arms and legs, sat silently in the courtroom as her lawyer spoke on her behalf. She is charged with identity deception and false reporting for committing what police called a "cruel hoax."

The attorney, Billy Rork, requested a lower bond, saying Walker is on medical disability and couldn't afford the bond amount. He also noted that she voluntarily turned herself in.

After the court hearing, Rork said he would file a motion seeking to have Walker's bond reduced.

Walker said Thursday that she was only trying to assist in the search for Shannon Marie Sherrill, who disappeared 17 years ago.

"My only intention was to help the investigation, and certainly not hinder it in any way," Walker told ABC News.

Dorothy Sherrill, Shannon's mother, said she was relieved to hear of Walker's arrest and hoped she would be sent back to Indiana to "get everything she deserves." Despite the alleged hoax, she said, "I'm not going to give up on my daughter."

Rork has said Walker would not waive extradition from Kansas to Indiana. He told The Associated Press on Friday that Walker contacted authorities because she was not certain any criminal activity had taken place.

"I think in her mind, I'm convinced, that she believes that she has information," Rork said. "She's holding up and is very concerned about the harm to the family and the charges and what she does now."

Rork wouldn't elaborate on Walker's mental health.

Todd Meyer, the prosecutor in Boone County, Ind., said on "Good Morning America" Friday that Walker's account was false and that he did not think she had any legitimate information to offer about the case. He said she has represented herself as the lost child "as well as many other individuals."

Authorities hope Walker's arrest will shed light on her motivation for the alleged hoax.

"We don't think it was financial," said Indiana State Police 1st Sgt. Dave Bursten. "There was never any kind of request for money."

Walker continued the ruse for days, allegedly calling Shannon's family, police and the news media to perpetuate the story -- often disguising her voice and posing as at least two other people. Investigators believe she even pretended to be the husband of the missing girl.

Court records and interviews indicate she has had brushes with the law in California, Kansas, Virginia and Nebraska. The offenses include making crank calls, reporting a false fire alarm, writing bad checks, making a bomb threat and using stolen credit cards to run up long-distance charges, according to an Indiana State Police affidavit.

In Urbandale, Iowa, an arrest warrant was issued for Walker last August for making a string of "weird calls" to police reporting to have seen people assaulted at gunpoint. Police never verified the calls, said Urbandale Police Sgt. Dave Disney.

"We had concerns for Walker's mental state, just from all the calls she was making," Disney said. "She's a strange one."