US Swimmers Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz Board Plane to Leave Brazil Amid Investigation

Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger were taken off a flight Wednesday.

ByABC News
August 18, 2016, 10:16 PM

— -- Two of the U.S. Olympic swimmers connected to a probe about a robbery in Rio de Janeiro that Brazilian authorities claim was fabricated have boarded a plane to leave the country.

While onboard the U.S.-bound aircraft Thursday night, ABC News asked Gunnar Bentz and Jack Conger to comment on the situation, but they declined. The pair boarded the plane without any handlers before the rest of the passengers, and headed to their seats in the second-to-last row.

Bentz and Conger were questioned by authorities after being pulled off their plane, bound for the United States, Wednesday night.

Their teammate, Ryan Lochte, claimed to authorities that he, Bentz, Conger and another Olympian James Feigen, were held up at gunpoint during the games.

But police said Thursday that they do not believe that the men were robbed and that they were not victims.

A spokesperson for the Rio de Janeiro Civil Police said that the department has recommended that Lochte and Feigen be charged with false reporting.

A lawyer for Lochte, who is now in the U.S., said he wasn't aware "of the federal police recommending charges for filing a false police report."

"I am not surprised to hear it though. They've gone this far and have failed to acknowledge that the robbery actually took place, so that would be the natural next step. A gun was pointed at the swimmers and they were forced to get out of their cab and give up their money," said the lawyer, Jeffrey Ostrow. "No matter what happened at that gas station, the swimmers were robbed by people with a gun appearing to be law enforcement. No matter what country you are in that is robbery and robbery is a serious crime."

Feigen's whereabouts were not immediately known.

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