Halifax police say an 18-year-old woman is facing mischief charges in connection with an alleged series of false 911 calls that sparked a large search in the city over the weekend.

Police say a ground search was conducted on Sunday around Tower Road and Point Pleasant Park after a person thought to be a male called 911 requesting help.

After hours of searching, no one was located and the search was called off.

Police say more than 30 other calls were received from the same phone number.

“Every time these calls come, under the 911 Emergency Act, we have to investigate,” said Halifax Regional Police spokesperson Cst. Pierre Bourdages.

Bourdages said police found the woman on Monday in possession of the phone.

“We located the woman in the backyard of a residence in the 1,000 block of Tower Road in Halifax. That woman was in possession of the cellphone that made all these phone calls,” Bourdages said.

The woman was released and faces two counts of public mischief and a summary offence ticket for placing a false call to 911 in violation of the Emergency 911 Act.

The 18-year-old cannot be named until she makes a court appearance on July 2.

Along with the charges, she faces a fine of $694 — but the cost to taxpayers is likely to be a lot higher.

Police officers spent time assisting with the ground search and investigating the other calls, while searchers — though they are volunteers — incurred other costs.

“Gasoline and the diesel, the cost of our searchers going to the search — that’s all expensed out to the police,” said Tony Rogers, spokesperson for Halifax Regional Search and Rescue.

Rogers said Sunday’s search saw about 60 volunteers come out to assist.

The operation was an unusual one for them because it was a search conducted in an urban environment.

Ironically, said Rogers, 24 of the searchers were taking part in a three-day training course on urban search and rescue when they were called away to assist.

According to police, there have been 15 false 911 calls so far this year — not including those last weekend — while 2014 saw 31 false calls and 40 occurred in 2013.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Rick Grant