UPDATED: Phone call that sparked massive search for shooting victim a prank, police say

A large two and a half our search along remote four-wheeler trailers off the Corbin Bypass Monday for an alleged gunshot victim was wasted time and resources, local authorities are now saying … the result of an expensive joke by a juvenile prankster.

It all started around 7:30 a.m. Monday morning when local resident Judy Barton called Corbin Police "frantic and crying, stating she had just received a call from a family acquaintance stating he had been shot in the chest and needed help." He was supposedly on an ATV trail off KY 3041 (Corbin Bypass) in a wooded area near Allison Blvd.

Barton said someone called her cell phone at 7:14 a.m, but did not say anything.

A second call came in a few minutes later.

"I said, ‘Hello,’ real mean," Barton said. "He said, ‘Please help me. This is Jonathan. I’m shot. I’m shot.’ I could hear a gurgling sound."

Barton said she asked the man where he was and he told her on the Corbin Bypass on the second hill from the water tower.

"He said, ‘I’m cold. My legs are numb,’" Barton added.

Though the number came up as a private number, Barton told police she thought the caller was 19-year-old Jonathan Barrett.

"He is a friend, but I am like a mother to him," Barton said of her relationship to Barrett.

Police immediately mobilized a massive effort to search for Barrett. Members of the West Knox Volunteer Fire Department, Corbin Fire Department and the District Emergency Management Director all participated. A Kentucky State Police search and rescue plane was even put on standby.

Authorities later learned that Barrett is in the Whitley County Detention Center and has been since mid-November on numerous drug, traffic and burglary related charges. A jail investigation showed no phone calls were made from the jail to Barton by Barrett.

Police could not immediately determine what number the call came from because the number was blocked.

Corbin Police Col. David Maiden obtained a search warrant for Barton’s cell phone records and determined the number belonged to Tommy Taylor of Adams Road in Corbin. Police say a 15-year-old juvenile family member staying at the residence made the call to Barton as a prank.

Maiden said the juvenile is Barton’s niece’s cousin and that she is familiar with the boy.

"Her niece had prank calls that same morning," Maiden said. "Ms. Barton just didn’t know about it until after our investigation."
Police say the call was made from a landline, but that they could not directly charge the juvenile with a crime because he did not call authorities.

"He didn’t actually call the police department or make any false report, so the person that received the calls has to get a pick up order for communications harassment," Maiden said. "She says she is going to."

Maiden said there are already numerous pick-up orders for the juvenile for other offenses. Apparently, the boy is moving from place to place in an effort to hide from police.

Police believe that Barton was at all times sincere and believed someone had actually been shot when she reported the incident.

"She believed it was true. It’s really not her fault," said Rob Jones, Public Information Officer for the Corbin Police Department. "We aren’t real happen about all the resources that were wasted, but there isn’t much we can do about it."