<\/br> The story of a young teen being swept into the rain-swollen Santa Ana River appears to be a sham, wasting hours of rescue workers’ time, according to the Orange Fire Department.<\/p>\n
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<\/br> The story of a young teen being swept into the rain-swollen Santa Ana River appears to be a sham, wasting hours of rescue workers’ time, according to the Orange Fire Department.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it was a planned hoax, but I\u2019m not sure what to call it,\u201d said Capt. Edward Engler, a spokesman for the department.<\/p>\n
Rescue workers reported pulling a boy out of the river near Glassell Street in north Orange on Thursday afternoon during heavy rain, and the boy told them that a friend was still in the river. The statement launched a massive search from Orange to the Pacific Ocean, with rescue crews from six fire departments scouring the river by land and air for more than two hours. <\/p>\n
But this morning, Engler reported that several new facts have come to light since the search. The person pulled from the river turned out to be a homeless man, and his statements have been found to be inconsistent and inaccurate. Engler said he did not know the man\u2019s motivation for making up the story.<\/p>\n
Officials do not yet know how much the rescue effort cost nor whether the department would seek criminal charges against the man, Engler said.<\/p>\n
— Seema Mehta<\/p>\n
Photo: Orange firefighters search for a teen who reportedly fell into the Santa Ana River from a bridge in Anaheim. <\/em>Credit: Mark Boster \/ Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/p>\n More breaking news in L.A. Now:<\/strong><\/p>\n Former Los Alamitos charity assistant sentenced to 4 years for embezzlement<\/a><\/p>\n Fire crews trying to save dog trapped in L.A. River<\/a><\/p>\n Evacuations lifted in some foothill communities; snow blankets mountains<\/a><\/p>\n Green jobs initiative to help community college students<\/a><\/p>\n Storms leave blanket of snow on Southern California mountains<\/a><\/p>\n