A search on Wednesday to locate an EPRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) at Mt Clear was deemed a hoax after the activated device was located in a drain.

A police helicopter was called to the area to help locate the emergency distress beacon that had been sending out signals since the weekend. Not only was the valuable time of the helicopter and its team wasted, but also those of Ballarat police units.

The EPRB was found stashed in a drain outside the Mt Clear Cricket Club.

Many reading this would say “so what? What harm did it do?” Well, apart from the emergency service crews’ valuable time away from helping genuine cases, the device sent distress signals to planes flying thousands of metres above Ballarat for the past four days.

The operation to recover the beacon was not only a waste of precious time and manpower by emergency service personnel involved, but was a costly exercise financially.

For the dozens involved in the search for the beacon – whether on the ground on in the air – it was time spent away from doing their jobs such as saving lives and enforcing law and order.

Those responsible for the hoax should be held accountable for their irresponsible actions. 

They should be made to pay for the cost of the aircraft and ground crews involved.

A frustrated Leading Senior Constable Damien Simmons, from the police air wing described Wednesday’s search as an annoyance for his squad.

 “It means we’re tied up for a day, just because of a nuisance like this,” he said. 

Leading Senior Constable Simmons said similar searches happened around once a month, and those responsible usually lived close by and got their kicks out of “looking out for our response”. 

The device has a serial number, which will be tracked by search and rescue authorities to find the perpetrators. 

Hopefully those responsible will be caught sooner rather than later and face the appropriate punishment.