Two Georgia residents are locked up on charges that they phoned 911 with false reports about evil clowns lurking outside a van.

According to the Troup County Sheriff’s Office, investigators were dispatched last night to investigate a report of “unknown persons dressed as clowns standing outside a white van.”

After the van’s owner gave deputies permission to search the vehicle, no clowns or costumes were found.

During a subsequent interview with deputies, Brandon Jerome Moody, the man who placed the 911 call, initially claimed to have seen “clowns around a white van parked on Hammett Road.” Moody, 26, then changed his story before admitting that he fabricated the clown tale.

Moody, pictured above, confessed that he was aware of “all the complaints about clowns and the schools being on lock down.” This week, local cops reported receiving several calls about “clowns in a van and in wooded areas trying to talk to children.” Police warned that “this behavior is not cute or funny” and could result in criminal charges.

During questioning, Moody also told deputies that his sister-in-law had also placed phony 911 calls about clown sightings. Rebecca Moody, 27, was later apprehended.

Charged with obstruction and unlawful conduct during a 911 call, the duo was booked last night into the county jail.