On July 15, a Gilmer Fire Department handheld radio was stolen and whoever took it began using it sending out many false alarms, like tornado warnings and officer down warnings.
“Officer down, officer down,” squawked a radio recording.
That was one of the calls Upshur County Emergency Responders had to deal with early Sunday morning. Gilmer Fire Chief Jerry Taylor says a handheld radio was stolen out of a vehicle that belonged to one of his captains.
“Whoever stole it had it turned on and figured out how to use it, and accessed the early warning sirens for tornadoes. They got on the Gilmer fire channel, the Upshur County fire channel, Gilmer PD, and Upshur County Sheriff’s Office,” Taylor stated.