Sleuthing Dispatcher Finds Suicidal Man

While still taking 911 calls and performing other work, Lethbridge (Alberta) dispatcher Joel McDonald was doing some investigating last month. A citizen called to report seeing a suicidal message on an Internet forum, and that person apparently lived in Lethbridge. McDonald found the forum, but couldn’t drill deeper to find information about the man who posted it until he himself registered on the forum. Once he did that, he found the names of several of the man’s on-line friends, and one of them came up with a phone number. McDonald called the man, who admitted to having work and relationship problems. After talking to McDonald, the man accepted help and an officer was dispatched to talk to the man. McDonald was modest–“I’m glad we were able to make a difference,” he told a reporter.