False Distress Hoax ties up CG and Local Law Enforcement
Wantagh, NY - A distress call this afternoon claiming that a body was in the water near Wantagh Park, sent multipe agencies on what became a wild goose chase

Contact: Aux. Wayne Spivak
Division Chief - External Communications
Public Affairs Department
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
http://www.auxpa.org
516-353-9155
Media@auxpa.org

False Distress Hoax ties up CG and Local Law Enforcement


/24-7PressRelease/ - Wantagh, NY, June 14, 2005 - A distress call this afternoon claiming that a body was in the water near Wantagh Park, sent multipe agencies on what became a wild goose chase.

The caller, a male with an accent, using marine VHF channel 16, the marine distress frequency, camly reported a body face down in the water being kept afloat by a PFD.

The radio caller then proceeded to switch channels to the Coast Guard working freqency, and provided Longitude and Latitude, as well as a phone number to the Coast Guard.

Responding to the scene were Coast Guard and Auxiliary boats, a Coast Guard Auxiliary mobile radio facility, Coast Guard Watchstanders (radio operators), Nassau County Police Marine units as well as the Town of Hempstead, NY Bay Constable.

After a twenty minute search of the area, the failure to reach the radio caller, and the determination that the phone number was phony, the Coast Guard determined the call to be a hoax.

False distress calls cost the American public large amounts of money, as well as put others at risk, as Coast Guard and other responders are not available for real emergencies.

Knowingly and willfully transmitting a hoax distress call is a felony. It is punishable by up to six years in prison, a $250,000 fine and restitution to the Coast Guard for all costs incurred responding to the distress. The maximum civil penalty is $5,000.

The Coast Guard is serious about stopping false distress calls. On 14 April a federal judge in Detroit ordered a North Carolina man to pay $10,000 in restitution for making a false distress call to the US Coast Guard.

The man was sentenced to 2 years probation and 4 months house confinement after pleading guilty in January to making a false distress call.

The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is composed of uniformed, non-military volunteer's who assist the Coast Guard in all of its varied missions, except for military and direct law enforcement. These men and women can be found on the nation's waterways, in the air, in classrooms and on the dock, performing Maritime Domain Awareness patrols, safety patrols, vessel safety checks and public education.

The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary was founded in 1939 by an Act of Congress as the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and re-designated as the Auxiliary in 1941. Its 30,000 members donate millions of hours annually in support of Coast Guard missions.



The release is available at: http://www.auxpa.org/releases/rbs/061205.html

Press Release Contact Information:

Wayne Spivak
US Coast Guard Auxiliary
Chief, External Communications
2711 Bellmore Avenue
Bellmore, NY
USA 117104319
Voice: 5163539155
Website: Visit Our Website