Quick-Thinking Dispatcher Saves Rape Victim

A woman who had been sexually assaulted by an acquaintance dialed 911 on the pretext of talking to her sister, but instead dialed 911 and reached an alert Utah County (Utah) sheriff’s dispatcher who eventually guided officers to the woman’s location. The woman voluntarily went with the suspect, whom she met through a friend. But the encounter turned criminal as the man drove her into the desolate desert west of Utah Lake. An unnamed female dispatcher answered the 911 call and asked, “What’s the emergency?” The victim replied, “I, I can’t really…I don’t know.” At that point the dispatcher seemws to understand the situation and asked, “Are you in a vehicle?” The woman answered, “Yes,” and the dispatcher then asked, “Are you able to talk.” When the woman said, “No,” the dispatcher began an 18-minute exchange of information, aided by the Phase II location from the victim’s cellular phone. At one point the dispatcher instructed the woman to say a code phrase if she saw a passing police car—”I remember that.” The 911 call also includes police approaching the car and arresting the suspect. “Thank you so much,” the crying victim finally tells the dispatcher. Read more and listen to the 911 call here.