PRINCETON, WV (LOOTPRESS) — A Princeton man is facing multiple charges after using the emergency 911 line not to report a crime or injury — but to demand a tow truck.
It all went down on April 5, 2025, at 4:56 p.m., when Mercer County E911 received a bizarre call from a man claiming to be Mark Trail. Trail reportedly dialed the emergency line and urgently requested a wrecker, though he offered little else—unless you count the colorful stream of curse words he hurled at the dispatcher before hanging up.
Following policy, dispatchers tried to call him back, only to be met with another round of verbal fireworks. Fortunately (for everyone except Trail), the phone was traced to the 1219 block of Princeton Avenue, and that’s when things took a turn for the weird.
Officer W.W. McGuire arrived on the scene and began canvassing the area on foot. That’s when a helpful bystander casually mentioned, “Yeah, a guy matching that description ran into those trees and just kinda… flopped.” Sure enough, McGuire found Mark Trail lying face-down under a tree, trying to impersonate a pile of leaves.
When asked what he was doing, Trail rolled over and eloquently responded, “F* you.**” (Strong words for someone playing hide and seek with the police.)
Trail was promptly detained and, unsurprisingly, reeked of alcohol. So much so, in fact, that officers had to hold him upright because gravity alone was clearly winning that battle.
As luck would have it, Trail also had an active arrest warrant for failure to appear in Princeton Municipal Court. After confirmation, he was taken into custody on that warrant and also slapped with charges of:
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Falsely reporting an emergency
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Public intoxication
Before being processed, Trail was taken to Princeton Community Hospital for medical clearance. Once cleared, he was booked at the Princeton Police Department, arraigned on the warrant, and then sent off to Southern Regional Jail.
