Coast Guard searches for hoax caller

BROOKINGS, Ore. — A prank caller has caused the U.S. Coast Guard to waste roughly $50,000 searching for boats in distress that did not exist.

The Coast Guard said this week that four prank calls have been placed since early October, each from the Brookings-Harbor area.

It costs $1,200 an hour for the Coast Guard to operate a 47-foot lifeboat, and $9,000 to $12,000 an hour to fly a helicopter, said John Dunn, master chief of the Coast Guard Station Chetco River in Brookings.

A greater concern is the risk to the crew each time it ventures out along Oregon's rugged southern coast. The hoaxes also could make the rescuers unavailable if someone is in need of real help.

Crime Stoppers is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for anyone who can help identify the male caller responsible for the phony distress calls.

Dunn thinks the caller could be someone angry with the Coast Guard, possibly someone who has been cited for a violation.

The crew at the Brookings station has come to recognize the caller's voice and generally know those calls are pranks, Dunn said. The Coast Guard, however, must send out search teams to ensure there isn't a vessel in trouble, he said.

"Someone who does this sort of thing will normally boast about it to friends. In a small community like this, it's likely someone will hear something," Dunn said.

The caller could face a charge of communicating a false distress signal, a felony that carries a maximum of six years in prison. He also would be liable for all costs the Coast Guard incurred as a result of the hoax calls, said Michael P. Zolzer, a Coast Guard spokesman.