Authorities arrested a 35-year-old Oregon coast resident who they say made four hoax distress calls in 2016 that sent the Coast Guard scrambling to find people in danger and sinking boats that didn’t exist.

Bud O’Neil Burkleo was arrested Friday morning in his hometown of Warrenton, just west of Astoria and several miles from the nearest Coast Guard station. Later in the day, he made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Portland.

Burkleo is charged with four counts of communicating a false distress message on April 8, June 3, Oct. 1 and Nov. 3 in 2016.

He’s also charged with lying to an investigator who spoke with him in December 2016 when he claimed he didn’t make the calls.

Earlier that month, the Coast Guard issued a public plea for help in identifying the caller.

Investigators at the time said they thought the man was responsible for 22 hoax calls.

Officials released several recordings from the calls, which were made over marine radio channels.

In one, a man can be heard saying “mayday, mayday, mayday.” In another, the man says “taking on water.” In a third recording, he sounds as if he’s announcing coordinates.

Investigators thought many of the calls were coming from somewhere between Warrenton and Seaside. Voice analysts suspected the man was between 35 and 40 years old and had an East Coast or Southeastern dialect.

Coast Guard officials say hoax calls waste time and resources. They also divert rescuers from responding to emergencies.

Burkleo is scheduled for trial in late May.

When Burkleo was 18 or 19, he was convicted in Clatsop County Circuit Court of an attempted sex offense, but the exact offense wasn’t available in electronic court records.

Five years later, he also was convicted of failing to register as a sex offender.

If convicted of making false mayday calls, in addition to jail time, he could be ordered to pay for the costs of deploying Coast Guard equipment and staff.

Hourly rates vary widely, according to the Coast Guard, with a small response boat costing $2,000 and helicopters costing $11,000 to $16,000.