August has arrived!
With that, school will soon be back in session and young pre-teen and teenagers will be getting a cell phone for the first time. During this time, there are usually calls that ring into 9-1-1 dispatch every year similar to this one.
As the phone rings into dispatch…
Steven: “9-1-1, Where is your emergency?
Caller: “Can you hear me? Please help me!
Steven: “I can hear your, where are you?”
Caller: “I don’t know they took me, we left now we are here.”
Steven: “What is your name? How old are you?”
Caller: “Cathrine, I am 12, help me!”
Steven: “Do you know who took you?”
Cathrine: “No, they just came in and took me.”
Steven: “Where did they take you from?”
Cathrine: “My house.”
Steven: “What is the address of your house?”
Cathrine: “I don’t know we just moved into Houston.”
By this time the cell phone is mapping near a residence in the county it is about 15 miles from Houston. Steven’s partner has already started a deputy to go that way.
Steven: “Are you alone, can you tell if you are in a house or another type of building?”
Cathrine: “I can’t see in here. It is dark and there is no one else here.”
Steven: “Are you injured or hurt anywhere?”
Cathrine: “Ugh, no I am ok.”
As Steven is asking the question, he can tell there is activity in the background and possibly even laughing.
Steven: “When did they take you?”
Cathrine: “This morning before I got on the bus for school.”
Steven: “What is your parents’ names?”
Cathrine: “John and Julie.”
Steven: “Cathrine, I want you to listen to me, stay on the phone with me and tell me anything that you see and hear.”
Cathrine: “OK, but I can’t hear anything, and it is dark in here.”
Steven: “I was able to map your location and we have the police on the way to help, tell me if you hear their sirens.
Cathrine: “Oh, sorry all is ok, never mind, I didn’t mean to do it.”
Before Cathrine was able to hang up the phone Steven heard multiple people laughing in the background. Even though this very well could be a prank call, it is handled as if it is real until law enforcement arrives on scene to investigate and ensure everyone’s safety. Steven updated the deputy that was enroute to the address. Once the deputy was on scene and made sure that all was ok, and located Cathrine, he advised dispatch that they were saying that no one called from this address. The deputy called into dispatch and asked a few questions and verified the phone number. Then the deputy talked with the family and helped them understand what happened, how it was recorded and how this could lead to serious consequences. While the deputy was there with the family Cathrine told her parents that she did call but it was just to see if the phone would work while her and her friends were hanging out.
Thankfully, this was just a prank call. But if it was not, dispatch and law enforcement are trained to act quickly to ensure the safety of everyone. Even though Steven may have thought it could have been a prank when he heard that first laugh in the background, he continued to treat it as a true emergency until proven otherwise by law enforcement on scene.
Calls like this and others are not uncommon when a cell phone is received for the first time. With school starting, there are also other common calls including a child arriving at home and no one is there. Or a young one staying at home alone after school for the first time and they thought they heard a noise or maybe even seen someone. Almost each year a child has a cellphone on the school bus, and calls 9-1-1, maybe to see if it actually works or just to see what happens. With technology continuing to advance over the years these types of calls have become more routine. Dispatch is usually able to locate the school district that the bus route is on and reach out to the school to notify the bus driver. Again, dispatch will continue to treat this as an emergency, even if it is just an open line, until all is verified and ok.
These calls and others like them are taken very seriously. There are many times dispatch works many angles and ask multiple questions trying to find out where the parents are, whether at work or just running errands. Dispatch will attempt every way possible to find the parents while also sending law enforcement out to make sure the child is safe and help locate a guardian. This is where your family plan is key. Go over scenarios with your children. Make sure you have a list placed in the home, somewhere that the family knows. The list should contain the home address, all the adults’ names and phone numbers. Include information such work locations/names listed with a number and an address.
Is there anyone in the home that has a medical condition? Make sure even the youngest child knows the type or word that describes it. One day the youngest could be the only one able to dial 9-1-1.
Lastly make sure your address is clearly marked on the outside and visible from the roadway. This may mean putting your address in a couple of different locations, at the end of your drive and near or on your home.
On behalf of Texas County 9-1-1, we hope that all has an enjoyable safe return to school.
The Texas County Emergency Services office in Houston is funded by a 3/8-cent countywide sales tax approved by voters in 2013. Director Terra Culley can be reached by phone at 417-967-5309 or by email at terraculley911@hotmail.com.