On June 11, 2012, a distressed boat call was supposedly made from a sinking yacht 17 nautical miles east of Sandy Hook, New Jersey. According to tapes of the call released to the media, someone said, "We have three deceased, nine injured. We've had an explosion onboard. That's why we're taking on water. I'm in about three-and-a-half feet of water on the bridge right now."
This sent the Coast Guard scrambling to save these yachtsmen, as they responded by air and with boat crews, using about $318,000 worth of personnel, watercraft, aircraft and fuel during the 5 1/2 hour search. After carefully looking for the sinking boat, nothing was found in the indicated area. Later, a triangulation determined that the call had actually come from land, in a location between the coast of Staten Island and the George Washington Bridge. It was obvious that the call has been a hoax.
What makes this situation more serious is that the same group may have done it before. Three weeks earlier, the Coast Guard in the Houston-Galveston, Texas area received a similar call. The caller said that they had lost "six souls" in a boating accident, going on to add, "We have an onboard emergency. We are taking on water, sir." This call was also a hoax, and sounded very similar to the New Jersey call. Among other similarities, both of the callers used the phrase, "we are taking on water."
When the Coast Guard receives a call like this, they are putting their own lives at risk in order to save others. The cost is tremendous, and it is a waste of money and resources. It also slows down their reaction time during that period to any other distress calls they may receive. Because of this, the penalty is up to six years in prison and a $250,000 fine, plus restitution for the cost of the search.
The question remains why the person or persons are doing this. Do they just find it amusing, or do they have a more sinister reason? Are they testing the reaction time of the Coast Guard? Are they trying to distract the Coast Guard while they slip by with drugs or illegal immigrants? Could it be a terrorist organization?
It is quite likely that we will eventually discover the reasons for this crime. The Coast Guard is already pinpointing the sources of the calls; in addition, they are using sophisticated voice recognition technology. There is also a $3,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons involved in these bogus distress calls.
You are reading from the blog: http://lies-and-liars.blogspot.com/
Photo courtesy of http://www.morguefile.com/
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