The Dodge County sheriff says he will ask for help from state investigators, and may ask for federal resources, to find the person responsible for a prank call that shut down Highway 151 late Thursday afternoon.
Sheriff Dale Schmidt called a news conference Thursday night to explain the large police response along a stretch of the highway, and he confirmed it was a case of swatting. That's when someone makes a prank call to emergency services in an attempt to create the dispatch of a large number of armed police officers to a particular address.
In this case, Sheriff Schmidt says someone placed a call around 3:30pm Thursday, and that person said they had shot someone and taken a hostage. The address given to authorities was a home near Highway 151 between Beaver Dam and Columbus.
There was a large police response, including a SWAT team. That team made contact with the homeowner and learned no shooting had taken place there.
"It's extremely frustrating for law enforcement," Schmidt said at the news conference, adding that diverting resources due to prank calls could potentially endanger others in the county who might need an emergency response from his office.
For more go to: http://www.wkow.com/story/37790343/2018/03/22/fake-call-led-to-shutdown-of-major-highway-in-dodge-county