Coast Guard looking for fishing vessel owner

KNOX, Me.-- The Coast Guard is asking for the public's help with identifying a fishing vessel and its reported owner in Maine.

Elwood Patton reportedly called the Coast Guard on Saturday. He claimed his vessel had sunk and that he was in the water.

"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! This is vessel Steven Bowden. We are sinking. We are five miles due north off of North Haven," he said during the call.

The Coast Guard believes it was all a hoax. They spent 120 hours searching for the vessel at a cost of $176,000.

If they find the person who made the fake call, the crime is punishable by up to six years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

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