Report of missing teen possibly a hoax – Medford News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News

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Report of missing teen possibly a hoax By Mail Tribune staff Updated: Nov 11, 2022 04:24 PM A A The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office released this photo of an unidentified teen reported missing and endangered Friday morning. As of Friday afternoon, police have reason to believe the original 911 call was a hoax. [JCSO photo] The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office believes a search for a reported missing and endangered teen in Southern Oregon may have been based on a false report. Search and Rescue personnel spent more than four hours trying to identify and search for an unidentified male juvenile reported to dispatchers Friday morning as missing and endangered. Police have since determined that the call to Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon dispatchers stemmed from a phone app account that was created just this morning, deleted immediately after the 911 call, and made “outside our local area,” according to a news advisory issued Friday afternoon by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office discontinued an active search for the teen as of 2:45 p.m. Anyone who may have information that the teen is actually missing and in danger is asked to call Sgt. Shawn Richards at the sheriff’s office at 541-591-1843. Police released a possible name of “Michael Owens” for the teen earlier today, but it’s unclear whether the information is credible.