Man pleads guilty to pretending to be Dakota James

This browser does not support the video element.

A man who pretended to be a missing Duquesne University student as part of a cruel prank pleaded guilty Friday.

Nathaniel Dunlap used a food-ordering system and pretended he was Dakota James.

While the search was ongoing for James, Dunlap claimed he was the missing man and said he was being held hostage in a Shaler woman’s basement.

James, 23, was reported missing after leaving a bar with friends Jan. 25. His body was found more than a month later in the Ohio River in Robinson Township. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death an accidental drowning,