Did Text Message ‘Save’ Robbery Victim? No.

A suburban Houston man who was forced into the trunk of his car at gunpoint by two robbers used his cellular telephone to send a text message for help. But the text message wasn’t the reason he was located and rescued by Fort Bend County sheriff’s deputies. Instead, it was a voice telephone call from a dispatcher that saved the day. The incident emphasizes the limitations of wireless text messaging, and that a simple voice conversation with a crime victim can be the most helpful form of communications. Once in the trunk, the man text’ed a friend, who dialed 911. A sheriff’s dispatcher called the victim’s cellular phone, but could barely make out what the man was saying. Listening to both the victim and two suspects, the dispatcher figured out the car was enroute to a local bank. The dispatcher directed deputies to the nearest ATM, and they arrived just as the two suspects were forcing the man to withdraw money. Read more here.