Intoxicated Man Called 911 On A Plane Crash

By Daniel Guevarra (Update)

August 8, 2009, Durango Colorado, on Thursday at or about 8:45 PM a 911 cell phone caller reported he was a survivor of an aircraft that went down in a wooded area of Durango. The caller informed the 911 dispatcher that that a number of the passengers died, as a result of the crash he had lost his arm and was bleeding profusely and he was a government official with a classification of GS-17

Local police and fire rescue responded to the location. However, they were unable to locate a downed aircraft. The FAA was notified and they had reported that they did not have a missing or downed aircraft.

The police contacted the phone company to get a fix on the cell phone. The GPS on the cell phone eventually lead police to the 911 caller.

The Durango Police Depart have reported the 911 caller was a hoax, the individual was intoxicated, had been arrested and placed at La Plata County Jail. The 911 caller’s Edward Henry Pretzer, 59 is being withheld by authorities pending a criminal investigation.

The estimated cost of resources, personnel hours, is estimated more than $30,000. Helicopters with night vision was used in an efforts to locate heat objects such as bodies. over 50 emergency personnel and numerous volunteers had responded to the scene. The La Plata county sheriff's office will most likely seek civil legal action to recover all costs.

Officials at this point in time have no idea Pretzer would make such a call.