By BARBARA ARRIGONI - Staff Writer

Posted: 05/02/2009 12:00:00 AM PDT

HAMILTON CITY -- An 8-year-old Hamilton City boy had Glenn County authorities racing across the county Friday on a report his father had shot his mother and she was on fire.

The call was a prank.

Taking the 1 p.m. 9-1-1 emergency call as a high-priority when it was received by dispatchers, the Glenn County Sheriff's Office, California Highway Patrol and Fish and Game units sped to the Ideal Mobile Home Park in Hamilton City with lights and sirens. An ambulance was on standby.

When deputies arrived, they found a door was open. They were able to get inside, but no one was home.

Sheriff's Sgt. Travis Goodwin said investigators learned who the boy was and that he was supposed to be at school. Deputies located the boy at the SPARK after-school program at Hamilton Elementary School.

The boy eventually confessed to making the whole thing up, Goodwin said.

Sheriff Larry Jones said the boy had apparently gotten a new cell phone from his parents that hadn't been activated and concocted the prank. Emergency 9-1-1 calls can still go through, even if a phone isn't activated yet, he said.

Detectives did ask the child why he made up such a story.

"He didn't really say why," Goodwin said.

The boy was cited for making a false police report and misuse of the 9-1-1 system, both misdemeanors. Authorities opted not to take him to the juvenile hall, Goodwin said.

Both the father and mother of the child were located and found to be OK. The cell phone was taken by investigators as evidence.