River rescue prompted by mistaken report

A report of a man falling in the Spokane River prompted an hour long, multi-agency search Thursday night, but police say the 911 caller was probably mistaken. A group of people were looking for a friend who had left a residence just before 10 p.m., said Spokane Police Officer Teresa Fuller. A neighbor heard the group yelling their friend’s name repeatedly, thought they heard splashing in the river, and assumed someone had fallen in. The Spokane Police Department, Spokane County Sheriff’s Department, Spokane Fire Department, AMR ambulance and Medstar air ambulance reported to the area of E. Upriver Drive and E. Mission Avenue to assist in the search. While the report initially seemed credible, authorities called off the search after discovering it was likely no one ever fell in the river, Fuller said.