HUTCHINSON, Kan. – A prank call late Saturday night has Sheriff Randy Henderson a little upset.
It started with a resident of Sylvia traveling northbound on Sylvia Road at the bridge over a creek where Red Rock Road would go through. That person saw two subjects laying on the side of the road in a manner that made him believe a fatality accident had occurred. He said there was debris on the road and he reported the men as being bloody. The resident was upset, continued down the road, but called 911. EMS and Fire units were dispatched to the scene as well as three Reno County Sheriff’s Deputies and a KHP Trooper. The Trailswest EMS had a Midwest Life-team helicopter launch.
When Fire and EMS units arrived on the scene, two individuals got up off the roadway, loaded their belongings in a pickup, told Fire and EMS it was a prank and left the area. A tag number was obtained.
Shortly after that, deputies were able to find the two individuals and interview them.
Sheriff Henderson says reports will be sent to the Reno County District Attorney’s office this week asking for charges be filed against these two individuals and hopefully restitution can be received by the responding agencies.
Sheriff Henderson says “this act is not only careless, causing emergency responders to operate in emergency mode, but also puts the public at risk because emergency resources are tied up on the call and not able to respond to real calls for service.”
The names of the two men have not been released, but may be after formal charges are filed.