A man who sent local authorities on a wild gator chase turned himself in after the whole incident was discovered to be a joke.

On July 4, at approximately 4:54 p.m., the Orange Beach Police Department, Orange Beach Fire Rescue, ALEA Marine units and Medstar Air Med responded to a call that a subject was pulled under a pier by an alligator in the area of Ono Harbor on Ono Island. After a tireless search by all responding agencies, the reported incident was determined to be a hoax.

Lieutenant Carl Bradley of the Orange Beach Police Department said the man in question had a history of similar behavior, but this particular incident went too far.

“It was all sent up as a prank, more or less,” Bradley said. “The guy was somewhat familiar with the guards there at Ono Island, and he just so happened to call the wrong guard with the prank. There was a history of him doing that, but this was taken as the real deal. The guard called 9-1-1 and reported it.”

Further investigation by the Orange Beach Police Department led to the identification of the caller; Daryl Scott Piner, a resident of Decatur, Alabama. Piner was visiting family at a gathering on Ono Island over the July 4 holiday. A warrant was obtained for Piner’s arrest, and he turned himself in to investigators at the Orange Beach Police Department.

Bradley said Piner has made bond and is waiting for a court hearing, where he will likely be charged with falsely reporting an incident.

This case cost all reporting agencies an hour of searching and resources which could have been utilized elsewhere. Bradley said the call was very troubling, hence the reaction from first responders.

“We haven’t had any other history with this going on with that individual through the police department,” Bradley said. “The reason for the big response was the nature of the call. Someone was being attacked and drug under the water by an alligator. That’s a very traumatic call. Of course everyone is going to respond to something like that.”