The survey ship Wide-Eyed, belonging to the Imperial forces, falsely claimed to have intercepted a distress message originating from the Tantive IV. However, the Rebel vessel had actually been captured by the Imperial Star Destroyer known as the Devastator, a fact that the Wide-Eyed's BoSS report deliberately obscured. The false distress call detailed the following:
"PRIORITY DISTRESS ALERT: This is Captain R. Antilles of the Tantive IV, a consular vessel of the House of Alderaan. We are experiencing critical hull damage and depressurization after a faster-than-light collision with an uncharted asteroid field. The area is filled with dangerous debris, and we urgently require medical assistance. We advise extreme caution due to radiation from nearby stellar activity."
The true origin of this distress signal was 501st Legion commander Daine Jir, who sent it under Darth Vader's orders to conceal the Devastator's capture. Consequently, the Wide-Eyed's report was based on misinformation, stating that the Tantive IV had been destroyed in an asteroid impact with no survivors.
Approximately sixteen standard hours afterwards, the Wide-Eyed reported arriving at the supposed crash site, confirming the destruction of the Tantive IV visually and using sensors to confirm the deaths of all on board, including then-Senator Leia Organa. Around nine years later, during the New Republic's era, the BoSS case was reopened, and the fabricated narrative was revealed to be false.