Rescuers rush to report of body in marsh only to discover a stolen mannequin
Harwich Fire Department in Massachusetts dispatches rescue boat and dive team after receiving a report of a body in a marsh only to discover a training mannequin which was reportedly stolen from the owner's yard.
A frantic search for a body believed to be floating in a Massachusetts marsh on Monday ended with a sense of relief when it turned out to be a naked mannequin.
The Harwich Fire Department received a call Monday afternoon that someone had seen what appeared to be a person floating in the water off the Bells Neck Conservation Lands.
Several agencies – with a lot of equipment – responded to the wet marsh and began the frantic search and rescue.
“We have a standard response policy for a person in the water,” Harwich Fire Dept. Lt. Scott Tyldesley told Boston 25. “We automatically activate our dive team. In case they’re needed, they’re on the way.”
He said the marsh area was remote and tough to reach, so they deployed a small boat.
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At the scene, officers quickly spotted what looked like a person twisted in half in the water – but something didn’t seem right.
“The color of the skin just looked a bit off for a person,” Tyldesley said. “We followed the river out and quickly determined it was a case of mistaken identity.”
He said the fire department was glad no other calls were received at the time and the responders were able to use the incident as a training experience.
“Any chance you get to respond to a non-standard emergency is a great training exercise and for this to have it work so well that it wasn’t someone dead it was just a training mannequin -- so the mission was accomplished and everything went well and everyone came home uninjured," Tyldesley said.
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Boston 25 reported that charges could be filed for the cost of the response if they determined that the mannequin had been put in the marsh on purpose. The owner told the station that it had been stolen in January.
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