Sanitary Napkin Misidentified as Fetus, Setting Off Elaborate Search

A report that a fetus had been found at a Queens golf course triggered a multi-agency search for the mother yesterday — a search that ended when officials determined that the discovery was in fact a sanitary napkin.

Employees at the Forest Park Golf Club called 911 just before 1 p.m. yesterday, prompting a level-one mobilization — the deployment of several dozen officers — to the public golf course in Woodhaven, police said. The discovery was initially reported by a golfer who was suspicious of something she found in the restroom, a spokeswoman for the Parks Department said. "Everyone thought it was a fetus," a course employee said.

Before resolving the case, members of the police canine unit and a helicopter from the aviation unit joined officers in scouring the golf course for signs of a woman they believed abandoned the fetus. A duty inspector and a duty captain also reported to the scene, police said.

Parks Department employees and investigators from the Medical Examiner's office were sent, as well."It's one of those odd but true stories," the spokeswoman for the Parks Department, Abigail Lootens, said. "I'm not really sure how she thought that, but the appropriate actions were taken given the concern."

Three hours after it began, the search was cancelled when investigators determined the true nature of the golfer's discovery. Without a case to investigate, police removed crime scene tape, the course manager, Robert Smith, said. "It was nothing," he said.

Golf was not suspended during the investigation, Mr. Smith said.