Mannequin on billboard spurs 911 calls about possible jumper

SPERRY, Iowa - A mannequin that had been placed atop a billboard in Des Moines County, Iowa prompted several calls to 911 from people who thought someone was going to take a leap.

The Hawk Eye reports that sheriff's deputies were first dispatched early Monday to check for a possible jumper along U.S. Highway 61 near Sperry. Sheriff Mike Johnstone says his deputies soon realized it was a mannequin sitting on the billboard, which says, "I can see Deery Brothers in West Burlington from here."

Johnstone eventually talked to the advertiser, Brad Deery, who owns Deery Brothers car dealership in West Burlington. Deery says he arranged to have the mannequin taken down after he talked to the sheriff on Thursday. Deery says he didn't want calls about the mannequin tying up 911 dispatchers.