Connecticut Firefighter's Death Possible Hoax

STAMFORD, Conn. --

The U.S. Army is trying to determine whether a report of a Stamford man killed in Iraq was a hoax.

Glenbrook Fire Department officials said on Thursday that Gabrielle Costello, 26, a U.S. Army Ranger and member of the volunteer fire department, was killed in Iraq. The story was reported by numerous area news organizations.

On Friday, officials began to wonder whether the report of Costello's death was true.

A public affairs officer for the Army said Friday that there is no report of a U.S. Army Ranger being killed in Iraq last weekend or any record of Costello -- or anyone with a similar name -- serving in the Army.

"I don't have anything in the database that says he's in the Army," said Shari Lawrence, Deputy Public Affairs Officer for the U.S. Army's Human Resources Command.

Had there been a solider killed over the weekend, his body would have been brought to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware by now, Lawrence said. There is no such body, she said.

NBC 30 could not confirm reports that Costello is alive, although other news organizations reported Friday that he is not believed to be dead.

The Army is trying to determine whether the story may have been fabricated, Lawrence said. Representatives have said that it has happened in the past.