Call About Endangered Girl Was A Hoax: Cinnaminson Police

CINNAMINSON, NJ — A call from an 11-year-old girl who said she was in danger and unsure of her exact location turned out to be a hoax, Cinnaminson police said over the weekend.

Cinnaminson police received the call at about 7 a.m. Saturday, police said. Cinnaminson police immediately requested the help of multiple law enforcement agencies and the Cinnaminson Fire Department to assist in the search.

“The Cinnaminson Township Police Detective bureau is fortunate to have highly trained detectives that are experienced in tracing and locating the originating caller utilizing multiple techniques,” Cinnaminson Police Chief Richard Calabrese said. “While officers were checking the area where the caller first reported she was in danger, the Cinnaminson Detective Bureau was able to identify that the call was actually a ‘swatting’ call and located the source.”

Police didn’t say what the source was. Swatting refers to a tactic in which an emergency service is tricked (via such means as hoaxing an emergency services dispatcher) into sending a police and emergency service response team to another person's address.

This is triggered by false reporting of a serious law enforcement emergency, such as a bomb threat, murder, hostage situation, or a false report of a "mental health" emergency, such as reporting that a person is allegedly suicidal or homicidal and may or may not be armed.

Cinnaminson police thanked all of the agencies that assisted them and the residents police encountered during their search on Saturday.