Oklahoma 911 team save suicidal caller... in Dublin
The Oklahoma 911 dispatchers received the call at 3am US time on Mar 2.
They were quickly able to ascertain that the woman was highly emotional and that she intended to do herself harm.
However, because the woman had called them on the service’s non-emergency seven-digit number, they could not trace where she was.
They did know she was not within their jurisdiction but their attempt to trace her was also thwarted by the fact she refused to give them her name or address.
While some of the dispatchers kept her talking for almost 30 minutes, others contacted US telecommunications company AT&T to see what it could do.
AT&T was able to trace the number 4,500 miles to Dublin.
“She was suicidal, had a gun and said she was going to kill herself,” David Shupe, director of 911 services in Oklahoma told ABC News. “Her biggest concern was making sure someone was contacted so her child would be OK.
“She said repeatedly she was trying to get out of the life of prostitution.”
Mr Shupe said he had no idea how the woman got the number for emergency services in Oklahoma.
According to the Oklahoma facility, its dispatchers were able to alert gardaí. Officers managed to find the woman’s house from the phone number and broke their way in.
They discovered her with a “serious” stab wound and she was rushed to hospital.
Mr Shupe said: “This was a pretty interesting piece of work from our perspective.
“We don’t typically get involved with overseas departments. It was pretty innovative how the supervisor handled it.”
The dispatchers who worked so hard to save the woman’s life are to be rewarded for their efforts in a ceremony this week.
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