Police in NH investigate ‘Reaper’ hoax call claiming hostages, bomb threats, ransom demand

Belmont police are continuing to investigate a hoax call made Sunday by someone identifying themselves as “The Reaper,” who claimed to have taken two hostages, demanded a ransom, and said bombs had been planted near Lake Winnisquam.

Police say the caller claimed to be holding two hostages on a boat near Mosquito Bridge and said one of them had been killed. The caller also claimed to have an accomplice who had planted bombs on boats near Winnisquam Marina.

“This caller was able to identify certain aspects of the area, either boats or markings or things that were in the environment that were actually there,” said Belmont Police Captain Evan Boulanger. “So, at that point, it lent credibility to it.”

Police say the caller demanded $30,000.

Belmont police were joined by several other law enforcement agencies in responding to the scene. K-9 units, drones and bomb-detection equipment were used to determine that the threats were not credible.

“Using those specialty teams and that technology was the best way to determine that it wasn’t credible,” Boulanger said.

Read more: WMUR