MAINE PUBLIC • December 3, 2020
The Coast Guard says a radio mayday that went out from the Spruce Head area Thursday morning is probably a hoax. After searching a 62-square-mile area from the air and the water for nearly six hours, the agency says it found no evidence that any boat had gone down. Deliberately issuing a false distress message is a felony punishable by up to six years in prison, a $250,000 fine and reimbursement of search costs.