911 Dispatcher Stays On The Line To Locate Pregnant Victim
LONGMONT, Colo. (CBS4) - It was a call at 2:41 on Wednesday afternoon that emergency dispatcher Beth Kemper said will stay with her forever. Michelle Wilkins was critically wounded when a woman slashed her stomach and stole her baby.
"I did not know what I had at the time until she said she had been cut," explained Kemper.
Victim: I'm pregnant. She cut my stomach.
Operator: she cut you in the stomach?
Victim: I'm pregnant.
Kemper, even learning that heartbreaking information, stayed calm:
Operator: How far along are you?
Victim: 7 months.
Operator: 7 months, OK.
She continued to ask the victim questions, doing her best to keep her talking.
"If she had stopped talking or disconnected I wouldn't have been able to have a confirmation that we were in the correct place," said Kemper.
The victim was calling from a cellphone, which Kemper explained can make pinning down a location difficult. In this case, Wilkins, even in her condition, knew exactly where she was: downstairs at a home on Green Place.
"She saved her life," Kemper said of Wilkins, "If she did not have that address it would have been a significant delay ... getting a ping on a cellphone is not easy."
With that information Kemper was able to get first responders to the home in a matter of minutes.
"It was not easy to come back today, because I did not sleep well ... But it's my job. It's my duty, my job, I love doing this and it's what I do," stated Kemper.
Wilkins was in critical but stable condition at Longmont United Hospital Thursday night. Dynel Lane stands accused of attacking her.
