Thursday, June 3, 2004
Associated Press
FLAGSTAFF - A prank caller devastated the family of a 22-year-old in the Army, falsely telling them that the man was dead.
On Sunday morning, a man called Danny Hogg's house and said that Hogg's nephew Wayne, who is in the Army, was dead. The caller said "we need to let you know Wayne died two days ago." The call came hours after Danny Hogg appeared in an Arizona Daily Sun photo at a Support the Troops rally.
The report was false, but it turned into a nightmare for Hogg's family, said Danny Hogg. It took the family a full day to get confirmation that Wayne was still alive in Iraq.
"The (caller) did what he intended to do; he caused grief from Flagstaff to Iraq," said Danny Hogg.
Harriet Rice, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center, said all branches of the military adhere to the same casualty notification process. The next of kin identified by deployed military personnel is always notified in person.
Wayne Hogg's family hadn't heard from him since January. The family spent all Sunday trying to get news on him, until an officer from Fort Huachuca called his father and told him that Wayne was OK. The military even arranged a phone call for that evening.
"The military did a fantastic job of reassuring us, all the way up to a phone call from him," Danny Hogg said.
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