Colorado park ranger accused of making false report of being stabbed

Colorado sheriff's deputies launched a massive search for a man wanted for stabbing a park ranger — only to learn the reported attack was an "elaborate hoax," officials said Thursday

Colorado sheriff's deputies launched a massive search for a man wanted for stabbing a park ranger — only to learn the reported attack was an "elaborate hoax," officials said Thursday.

Callum Heskett, a Colorado Parks and Wildlife seasonal ranger at Staunton State Park, will face multiple misdemeanor and felony counts stemming from the allegedly false report, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.

Heskett, 26, radioed for help at about 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, saying he'd been stabbed before giving a detailed description of his attacker who had fled on foot at the state park near Denver, officials said.

The sheriff's department sent an alert to 8,600 local residents to look out for the suspect while several "schools and nearby citizens were asked to remain locked down for safety," according to the sheriff's statement.

The department's SWAT and drone teams and state air assets were sent on the hunt, officials said, as Heskett was airlifted to the hospital.