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Cohasset Police: Call From 'Mom Who Gave Birth Behind Gas Station' A Hoax

COHASSET (CBS) – Cohasset police thought they were looking for a mom who had just given birth and was in trouble. Now, detectives are looking for the prankster who made the troubling 20-minute phone call to police.

Officers say they received a call on Monday around 11:15 from a woman reporting that she had just given birth to a baby behind a South Main Street gas station.

"I just had a baby behind the gas station and I don't feel good. I need an ambulance," the caller told the dispatcher.

Listen to the part of the call

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Police officers and EMTs responded while the dispatcher kept the woman on the phone.

Officers found nothing when they showed up at the gas station.

WBZ-TV's Karen Anderson reports

The dispatcher spent more than 20 minutes trying to get a better location. Police say the caller was convincing, moaning in pain throughout the call, but was not helpful in providing a location.

The woman eventually hung up, but the search continued.

Police officers spent an hour-and-a-half checking a number of other area gas stations, cars, and dumpsters. A police K-9 was even brought in from Scituate.

Other departments and hospitals were also notified.

"We were checking dumpsters, trash cans and parked cars to see if there as any way we could trace the call that was coming in," said Cohasset Police Chief Mark DeLuca. "It drained our resources, it costs the town of Cohasset a fair amount for a small community, it's needless."

Cohasset police detectives now say the call appears to have been a hoax. The caller, if caught, would likely face charges.  The call though, came in through the department's business line, not 911, which makes it much more difficult to trace.

"It's disappointing, all our resources were drawn to a call we believe at this time was a false call," said DeLuca. "We called in the K-9 unit from Scituate, to help us, and cars from other surrounding towns, we used our resources to check emergency room, and parked vehicles. It's disheartening."

WBZ-TV's Karen Anderson contributed to this report

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