Officials Investigate Hoax About Child

A day after five Pasadena students reported that a boy fell into a trash bin that was then emptied into a garbage truck, city and school officials were in disagreement about whether the incident was a prank or the students really believed a child was in danger.

The report Thursday by the students, 7 to 9 years of age, that a small child had been hauled away in a trash truck spawned a six-hour search of the neighborhood, garbage trucks, and the Scholl Canyon landfill in Glendale.

Pasadena Schools Police Chief Jurado Blue said that although the report turned out to be false, he “does not consider it a hoax” because the students did see a child playing with a ball near the trash bin and mistakenly believed he was inside.

Lt. David Richter of the city’s Police Department--the lead agency in the investigation--said officers who interviewed the children reacted quickly because the report seemed credible, but that the students eventually admitted “they made up the story.”

City officials will decide next week whether to pursue civil action against the students’ parents to recoup the costs of the rescue effort. .