Log sets off man overboard false alarm

SEATTLE, June 11 (UPI) -- Authorities said a false alarm of a man overboard from a Washington state ferry was likely caused by a floating log that resembled the outline of a man.

Petty Officer Colin White, spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard in Seattle, said passengers on the M.V. Wenatchee ferry Wednesday in Seattle's Elliott Bay reported seeing a man in the water shortly after 8:30 a.m. and crew members feared someone had fallen from the vessel, The Seattle Times reported Thursday.

Alarms were sounded and the Coast Guard was called to search the area but the ferry's crew soon found that all passengers were accounted for, White said.

And what did the Coast Guard find?

"What was seen in the water appeared to be log with a balloon attached to it," White said.