Law Enforcement Sent On Wild Goose Chase From Hoax Phone Call

Mahaska County Sheriff’s Department

A Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office Press Release

On Tuesday, July 17, 2018, at approximately 7:10 am, the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office received a report that a female had been sexually assaulted and stabbed on the recreational trail within Caldwell Park, located at 2343 Highway 92. The victim/caller identified herself as Jocelyn Lannie Barns of Texas. Emergency responders from the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office, Oskaloosa Police Department, Mahaska Emergency Management Agency and the Mahaska County Conservation Center responded to the area and were unable to locate the victim.

The investigation into this matter determined that this call was a hoax and that there is no danger to the public. The Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office learned that several other law enforcement agencies in Iowa had received similar calls of this nature within the past 24 hours. The Sheriff’s Office is continuing investigating this hoax.

Additional information learned about the hoax caller.

Mason City, Iowa is another community that the hoax phone call impacted. The report from the caller to them stated, “MCPD responded to East Park on a report of a female who was injured in an assault. The female said she was near a trail. Officers have been unable to locate her at the park.”

Mason City law enforcement searched the park until dark, but then learned that other law enforcement agencies in Iowa had received similar reports.

Mason City released the following statement, “It is important for the public to know that our response to this incident consumed significant public safety resources. Those resources were unavailable for response to other emergencies while they were deployed on this incident.”

Posted by on Jul 17 2018. Filed under Local News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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