PACIFIC CITY, OR (KPTV) -
A big misunderstanding on Facebook led the Coast Guard to search for a massive piece of debris that was thought to be floating off the Oregon Coast.
It started when an Oregon Coast resident sent a photo of what appeared to be a large dock in the Pacific Ocean to the Tillamook Headlight Herald newspaper's Facebook page. Based on the photo, the Coast Guard began looking into the report of the debris and searched off the coast of Pacific City.
But nothing was found.
FOX 12 also sent its helicopter crew to the Oregon Coast, but again, no evidence of a massive piece of debris - very similar to the Misawa tsunami dock that arrived on Oregon's coastline in June - was found.
The man who shared the photo on Facebook soon determined the photo posted by his dory fisherman friend was not a recent photo. He told a FOX 12 reporter it was all a big misunderstanding.
On June 5, a massive dock ripped loose from the coast of Japan during the 2011 earthquake and tsunami washed ashore one mile north of Newport.
Ever since, state officials have ramped up preparation for more tsunami debris that is expected to arrive on Oregon's coastline.
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