By John P. Mcalpin, The Associated Press
PATERSON, N.J. (AP) - The 911 call that had many fearing that a 4-year-old girl was home alone with her injured mother was a prank, authorities said Saturday after four days of searching for a victim and listening to recordings of the plea for help.
Police investigators said they do not know who made the call or why, but said the call can be traced to a location in Irvington.
“We are looking into this right now. It’s a hoax,” Paterson Police Chief Lawrence Spagnola said. “We still haven’t identified who placed the call and from what particular place.”
Investigators believe the caller used a 2-year-old prepaid phone card that was only able to dial 911, Spagnola said. Experts found several inconsistencies after reviewing an enhanced copy of the tape, including the fact that the caller gave one phone number to state police and was unable to give the same number to the city police dispatcher, he said.
The caller told police her name was Jessica and that her mother was in the bathroom and wasn’t breathing. The call came in at 9:20 p.m. Tuesday, routed through the state police because it came from a cell phone.
The girl told the dispatcher she lived at 150 Sparrow St., but no such address exists. Police visited every house on Sparrow Street, as well as several others that might sound similar to a child, but no one reported anything out of the ordinary.
Investigators also checked schools and hospitals, but found no clues as to the whereabouts of the girl or her mother.
According to a police statement released Saturday, more than 250 people have called city detectives since details of the call were publicized, from as far away as Hawaii and Canada.
They included psychics, genealogists and amateur detectives who used the Internet to find streets that sound like Sparrow Street.
“You didn’t know whether there was a child in some apartment somewhere in danger, or something happened and who knows who was still there with her,” Paterson Mayor Jose Torres said. “It really caught on.”
Alarmed Paterson residents searched city apartment buildings themselves after hearing of the search for “Jessica’, said Debra Lewis.
“What we need to do as a community is find out who lives next door to us so we know, so we can help,” Lewis said.
Saturday’s news that there never was a child in danger had many people relieved, she said. “My granddaughter is 3 and this really, really hurt,” Lewis said.
Passaic County Sheriff investigators began tracking all 911 calls made from cell phones in New Jersey between 9:15 and 9:30 p.m., Sheriff Jerry Speziale said.
They identified the Irvington location by matching the time of the call on phone company records to the state police dispatch center, he said.
Police detectives interviewed several people in Irvington, but could not determine if any of them were at home when the call was made, officials said.