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| be on the wrong scent; be on the wrong track; be on a false scent; be on the wrong track (scent); run a false scent | |||
| draw amiss | |||
| bark up the wrong tree (to follow the wrong course: The police spent three months barking up the wrong tree on the murder investigation.) | |||
hunt a false lead (This was the rarest type of all kidnappings — a stranger abduction from the home — and it triggered one of the largest manhunts in FBI history, along with a media frenzy. By the time it was all over, actress Winona Ryder would even offer a reward for Polly’s safe return; a move investigative journalist Kim Cross said police asked her to walk back for fears it would draw opportunists and waste resources hunting false leads.  coasttocoastam.com ART Vancouver) | |||