Yacht Explosion Hoax

Yesterday, the United States Coast Guard received a distress call from an unknown caller claiming that a yacht called "Blind Date" with 21 people on board had exploded off the coast of New Jersey. The calller reported that everyone had escaped from the boat and were in life rafts.

The Coast Guard immediately dispatched air and sea rescue units and the NYPD sent two of their helicopters, but found no signs of life rafts or distress of any kind.

As a result the USCG is now saying they believe the call was a hoax and is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the phony caller.

Besides the obvious cost to taxpayers of dispatching a massive search and rescue operation, incidents like this unecessarily endanger the lives of the men and women who we rely on to rescue us and are truly despicable. Our judicial system seems to think so too. If convicted, the phony caller could receive 10 years of prison time and a $250,000 fine. 10 years sounds reasonable, but I wouldn't be shocked if an operation like this cost more than $250,000 to put on.