Boy's prank mayday no joke to Coast Guard

A 9-year-old boy's prank mayday call meant to entertain his younger sister left Coast Guard rescuers scrambling to find what turned out to be a perfectly buoyant vessel, investigators said.

The crews were able to pinpoint the fishing boat's location on Wednesday in the Long Island Sound using "direction-finding communication technology" after several attempts to contact the vessel failed.

A boat crew from Station Eatons Neck found the vessel and escorted the six people aboard to a pier, where investigators questioned and released them without criminal charges, said Special Agent Mario Cintron of the Coast Guard's Investigative Service.

The boy told officials he thought that the radio wasn't working, and the parents of the children didn't know what they were up to, Cintron said.

"The dad was fishing and the kid locked himself in the cabin," Cintron said. "He was trying to make his sister laugh."

But the call was no joke to rescuers and investigators, who said Wednesday's search and rescue operation cost nearly $5,500 in assets.