Yesterday morning mom got a call from a very distraught auntie. Something terrible had happened to auntie's grandson in Anchorage. Mom asked me to call her sister.
When I called, auntie was indeed very shook-up. She had got a call from her grandson, Brock, who said he had been in an accident the night before after attending a wedding. He had got busted for being just over the legal alcohol limit and was in the pokey. Needed help with bail and an attorney.
Auntie, who had been up watching tv all night, was understandably shaken. She asked her grandson many questions - the answers not always being what she expected. But her grandson was clearly distraught too.
Brock had promised to call back with more instructions on how to handle the finances. Auntie wasn't sure what to do.
I told her I would check around and get back to her. I checked the Alaska Court System both online and with a phone call. Brock was not scheduled for any court appearance and he had no open criminal cases.
I called the Anchorage jail and was told that Brock was not being held in custody in Anchorage or any other correctional facility in Alaska.
I called the Anchorage Police Department, the officer I spoke to was very helpful and said he would find out if the police had contact with Brock in the last couple of days. He said he would call me back.
I called auntie back and told her what I had learned - which was essentially nothing. She had spoken to Brock again - an even more discomfiting conversation. Something didn't seem right...
At that point I did what I should have done in the first instant - call my cousin Brock. He picked up on the second ring and said "What's happening, Cuz?" He seemed cheerful. He seemed composed. He was obviously not in jail.
I explained the turmoil of the past couple of hours. He was shocked. He immediately called auntie.
I then called the Anchorage Police Department again. Got the same officer who had written my phone number down incorrectly and had been unable to get back to me. I explained the situation as it now stood. He said that auntie had just experienced a phone scam that is very active at the moment. Numerous instances in Anchorage. He told me to file a report with the Juneau Police Department which I also did.
Then I called the local paper. I hope they run a story of some sort to alert the elders.
The scamster was very accomplished - like a carney fortuneteller. He was able to elicit enough personal info from everything auntie said to keep the story moving forward. His tone was distraught - but similar enough to Brock's voice to be convincing.
ELDERS BEWARE!!!!!!
Finally, the next installment in the Alaska Coastal series:
An Alaska Coastal PBY on the runway at Juneau
The PBY is a really cool plane. Originally developed as a long-range navy patrol plane, it found a niche in commercial aviation after the Second World War. The plane was originally fitted with glass blisters on the waist - very useful if your job is to spot enemy ships. Also not very waterproof and they were eventually removed by Alaska Coastal. The tail fin has also been modified.
The PBY was a critical player in several naval engagements. The British operated them in Europe and it was a PBY that located the Bismarck attempting to sneak back to the coast of France after she had sunk the HMS Hood and eluded the Royal Navy cruisers shadowing her in the North Atlantic. Things took a serious turn for the worse for the Bismarck after being spotted by the PBY...
And in the Pacific a PBY was the first to spot the approaching Japanese at Midway.
Like I said, a cool plane.
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