BAR HARBOR — The Coast Guard Investigative Service is seeking the public’s assistance with information regarding suspected search and rescue hoax transmissions made on Sunday and Monday.

Between 11 p.m. on Sunday, June 1, and 12:30 a.m. on Monday, June 2, Coast Guard Sector Northern New England Command Center watch standers received multiple reports of a mariner in distress over VHF Channel 16. Despite the person saying MAYDAY and calling for the Coast Guard, they stated they were located on land, in a house in Bar Harbor, Maine. The Coast Guard’s direction-finding equipment confirmed the radio calls were coming from a position on land in Bar Harbor.

VHF Channel 16 is for international hailing and distress only. Knowingly transmitting false distress calls is a federal crime under 18 U.S. Code § 1038. It can lead to criminal and civil penalties if found guilty and can be punishable by up to ten years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines plus the cost of the search. Deliberate misuse of distress communications harms the Coast Guard’s mission of providing search and rescue assistance to the maritime community that needs it, and this crime is treated seriously.

Click here to listen to the radio call: https://www.dvidshub.net/audio/86850/coast-guard-bar-harbor-hoax-call-02june2025

“We take distress calls very seriously, so when our watch standers hear MAYDAY, we immediately begin preparing to respond,” said Capt. Matt Baker, Commander of Coast Guard Sector Northern New England, in a news release. “Hoax calls divert our time and resources from real search and rescue missions and could impact our ability to help boaters in real emergencies.” In this case, the Coast Guard determined the calls were not an actual distress, so no boats were launched to respond.

In 2015, a Maine man was sentenced to one year in prison, up to one year in community confinement, and three years of supervised probation for making false distress calls to the Coast Guard. In addition, he was ordered to pay $15,000 for the costs associated with the search the Coast Guard conducted in response to his hoax call.

If you recognize this voice and/or have information regarding the above incidents, please contact the Coast Guard Investigative Service at https://www.uscg.mil/cgis or through the CGIS TIPS mobile app available in the App store and Google Play.