Police say a report of a child falling through ice on the Esopus Creek that triggered a massive multi-agency response Thursday appears to have been a false alarm.

"At this point I have to believe if there was actually a child missing it would have been reported to us,” said Kingston Police Deputy Chief Ricky Negron.

Negron said the incident began around 5 p.m. on New Year's Day when a caller to 911 reported that they had seen one child fall through the ice near a boat launch on Sandy Road. The caller added that they could hear another child apparently in distress on the creek. The call triggered a multiagency response that included the Kingston and Town of Ulster Police Departments, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office, the Kingston Fire Department and a dive team from the Ulster Hose Fire Company.

As temperatures plunged into the teens rescuers in exposure suits began searching the frozen surface of the creek for any sign someone had fallen through the ice. After thin ice conditions hampered the search on the surface, divers guided by sonar entered the water to begin searching below the ice. Meanwhile, police canvassed the neighborhood and nearby hotels to determine if any children had been reported missing. The search was called off after two-and-a-half hours after rescuers failed to find any sign of a person falling through the ice.

Police also posted to social media a picture of a person of indeterminate age walking on the surface of the creek wearing camouflage pants, a black jacket and yellow knit cap carrying a large stick. Negron said the picture had been taken earlier in the day by a woman who told police she snapped the shot because she found it odd anyone would be walking on the thin ice covering the creek. Policed have yet to identify the person in the picture. Anyone with information about the incident or the person in the picture is asked to contact Kingston Police at (845) 331-1671.