Hear the Eerily Calm Distress Call From the NJ Yacht Explosion Hoaxster
- Posted on June 12, 2012 at 4:42pm by
Liz Klimas
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On Monday afternoon, a distress call was made to the U.S. Coast Guard claiming a yacht named “Blind Date” had exploded, killing a few, injuring others and forcing survivors to seek safety in life rafts from the sinking vessel. Rescue efforts were immediately initiated, but when the teams couldn‘t find evidence of the boat’s debris or survivors after four hours, they began to realize it was a probable hoax — a hoax that cost them about $88,000 for the wasted rescue efforts.
A $3,000 reward was issued Tuesday morning for the perpetrator of what appears to be a false phone call and more details have been emerging since. One such detail is evidence that the radio call was made from land.
Rescue teams waiting to assist survivors. Rescue efforts for the hoax cost about $88,000. (Photo: MyFoxNY.com)
“Many hoax calls, you can tell immediately they’re from children,” Deputy Commander Gregory Hitchen said at a news conference this morning. “This one was somewhat calm but was giving a convincing story as to what the nature of his emergency was.”
Hitchen also said the call was made on a channel not usually used in emergencies.
In the audio recently released, you can hear the caller explaining there are 21 souls on board the vessel and 20 in the water. Nine of these people were allegedly injured from the explosion and three were deceased. The caller explains details like the fact that he is standing in three feet of water as the craft is going down; where the yacht’s last location was; and the fact that he is using a solar powered radio as some equipment is damaged.
Listen to the audio:
Hitchen said the hoax put the public at risk by taking Coast Guard personnel away from a separate emergency call that came in during the search. The Coast Guard received a report of a person in the water off Bayonne, N.J., in the separate call but did not find anyone in distress.
Watch this clip of Hitchen at a news conference earlier today:
Here’s a second clip where Hitchen issues a reward for the person who made the call:
Making a false distress call is a federal felony, with a maximum penalty of five to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and reimbursement to the Coast Guard for the cost of performing the search. The Coast Guard and other state and local agencies responded to more than 60 suspected hoax calls last year in the northern New Jersey, New York City and Hudson River region.
Hitches said a hoax of this kind is dangerous not only for those who could be failing to receive help while the rescuers are preoccupied but for the rescuers themselves. CBS Local has more:
Hitchen said Monday’s operation even jeopardized a call that said someone was about to jump off the Bayonne Bridge. That jump never happened, but officials said hoaxes put both emergency responders and the public at risk.
“When we are responding to a hoax, we are not ready to respond to an actual search and rescue case,” he said. “It’s always dangerous to launch a helicopter out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean for a search and it’s particularly dangerous when several helicopters are all converging on the same point in the ocean to initiate a rescue.”
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EJinVA
Posted on June 12, 2012 at 8:46pmSo apparently on of the countries busiest ports doesn’t have Rescue 21 yet? that aside, standing on the bridge in three feet of water…where were the other 20 people be standing? well within cell phone range….don’t supppose anyone else would try to call? at the very least, someone could’ve just checked marine traffic dot com – if not the vessel traffic service – to verify that the ship was underway. (a boat big enough for twenty plus passengers would almost certainly have AIS or EPIRB onboard).
Report Post »17 miles off the coast and NO other vessels in the area saw anything? I’m almost embarressed for the CG on this one…
trinklefinder
Posted on June 12, 2012 at 8:09pmWeird. Thought it was prolly jus a hoax until the second call that resulted in nothing being discovered either. Maybe it was a test run by terrorists (or some group) to see how an agency responds to a false call thereby taking resources away from something more nefarious that might happen? Oooooor maybe not, just brainstorming.
Report Post »trueamerican40
Posted on June 13, 2012 at 12:36amMaybe it was our own government testing response times for a future endeavor; remember the “Crossing the Rubicon” Law that Obama passed in 2010? There is a reason for everything that this man has passed in his first 2 years as President. We all know that Obama ain’t gonna leave easily–martial law first, seizure of control second… get the picture? Put a tinfoil hat on me, I don’t care.
Report Post »barber2
Posted on June 12, 2012 at 7:01pmSounds like one of the anarchist / OWS guys…
Report Post »TIME_2_END_THE_PAUL_CAMPAIGN_IN_12
Posted on June 12, 2012 at 5:58pmI know it’s a little further north than one would expect for a drug smuggling ruse, but it might be some slick drugs smugglers throwing the authorities off to search a certain area then moving something inland somewhere else knowing that a lot of resources would be tied up in the search/rescue. It’s been done before….
Report Post »bo1921
Posted on June 12, 2012 at 5:23pmOh, I forgot – then throw his ass in jail.
Report Post »AndySchmandy
Posted on June 12, 2012 at 5:43pmAfter they find this ashsole, they should put him in a 5×5x5 wooden box, hook it up to a capable hydraulics system, then shake the hell out of it for 5 minutes in counting after the screams stop.
Report Post »bo1921
Posted on June 12, 2012 at 5:17pmFind him and beat the Hell out of him, then seize his property and/or any wealth they can confiscate from him. I think triple damages would be more than appropriate. Also, don’t forget people, when our rescue forces go out, there is always the possibility of danger to these brave men and women. Never forget that.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on June 12, 2012 at 5:13pmIt’s amazing how congested the entrance to the NY harbor is. The ships coming in and out are cooking and it would be easy to become a statistic. Hope they catch these fools and keelhaul them
Report Post »SpankDaMonkey
Posted on June 12, 2012 at 5:03pm.
Report Post »Maybe someone should call them and report the sinking of the U.S.A………
hi
Posted on June 12, 2012 at 4:56pmstupid liberals
Report Post »Landon410
Posted on June 12, 2012 at 4:53pmnot cool man, not cool
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