This article was originally published on ParentMood
Not Just Another Typical Shift
You don't have to have a small child to know that they shouldn't be let around phones. They can quickly turn just about any expensive phone into a brick, and if they don't, it's probably because they've been too busy calling and talking to everyone in your contact list. That's one side of this story. The other involves the typical shift of a 911 dispatcher, which is filled with harrowing calls from all sorts of people.
And despite being trained to handle any type of emergency situation you could imagine, this particular call proved to be a lot harder to handle and remain calm through than most.
Everyone At Dispatch Listened To The Recording
While Sara was taking the call from a young Elijah, it was pretty clear to her coworkers that something was different. In addition to the things she was saying to the other person on the line, it looked as though she was struggling to hold in her laughter. This was obviously not a typical 911 call. Luckily, all calls to 911 are recorded, so after it was over, she played it back for her coworkers.
Everyone in the room found the entire thing hilarious. Apparently, not long before calling 911, Elijah had been tucked in bed by his father before somehow managing to get a hold of a phone to call 911.
Elijah Was Like Most Other 5 Year Olds
The boy who called 911 that day was like most others his age. Elijah was extremely curious, and he loved going outside and playing. He did so nearly every day, after which he'd take a nice afternoon nap, which he did on the day that he ended up calling 911. Elijah's dad tucked him into bed, and he quickly fell asleep, but only after his dad promised he'd cook his favorite meal for him later.
However, little did Elijah know that he wouldn't wake up to his favorite meal later. Instead, he'd wake up to something that'd cause him to call 911 and get in touch with Sara.
Waking Up To An Empty House
Elijah was probably really excited when his dad agreed to cook his favorite meal for him and have it ready by the time he woke up. So, imagine young Elijah's disappointment when he woke up and didn't find his favorite meal right there next to his bed. Elijah got out of bed, hoping to find his dad and his meal in the kitchen, but he found neither. The house seemed empty.
There was no grand meal of chicken nuggets or whatever it was that Elijah was hoping to find, but there was also no dad, which probably worried Elijah a lot.
Nobody Else Was Around
When Elijah couldn't find his dad, he started yelling for him in the house. There was no answer. The next logical step was to go to the door and see if he couldn't spot him outside, so he did. But there was nobody outside either. Elijah had never been left alone at the house before, at least not that he was aware of, so the whole thing was a bit startling.
He wasn't sure how to handle it. After all, this was the first time he'd ever experienced being left by himself, and he was only 5 years old.
Questions Started Racing Through His Mind
If you were ever left by yourself somewhere, or you thought that you'd been left by yourself, then you can probably imagine what was going through Elijah's head when he woke up to find the entire house empty. His mind started racing to questions like, where was his dad, and when was he coming back? Would he be back quickly, or was he going to be gone forever? It might sound dramatic, but Elijah was young.
He had no idea why he'd been left alone or for how long. He also had no idea if his father was even okay or if he was in some kind of trouble.
Could This All Be Some Kind Of Joke Or Game?
One of the first things Elijah asked himself was if this was all just some kind of joke, but that thought quickly left his mind. His dad didn't like joking around. He didn't even really seem to enjoy playing with young Elijah, so there was no way this was all some kind of elaborate prank and that he'd pop out of the closet at any moment. Something more was going on.
Elijah was also hungry, which reminded him that he hadn't woken up to his favorite meal. This annoyed him, and he quickly felt guilty about it. After all, his dad was missing.
What Would Happen To Him?
At first, there was some joy in having the entire house to himself. He could do anything he wanted. It was every 5 year olds dream, but that quickly went away when he thought about what his dad would think if he just wrecked the entire house. Then, he started going through the whole house, looking in every closet and all of the cabinets to make sure nobody was hiding.
He didn't find anyone, and he quickly began to cry, losing all hope that anyone would ever come and find him or that he would be rescued by a family member.
The House Was Locked
After crying for a bit, Elijah started to formulate a plan, but it wouldn't be easy. He thought about going over to the neighbor's house and asking for help. He knew them, and he'd played with their dog before, but the door was locked, and Elijah was only a toddler, so he couldn't unlock it by himself. Next, he thought about calling someone for help, but who could he call?
He didn't know anyone's number by heart, and he'd never even used a phone before. How many numbers are even in a phone number, he asked himself. Luckily, he did remember one number his parents had taught him.
Elijah Dials For 911
He remembered that his mom had taught him a really short number and that he could call it if he ever felt like he was in danger or if there was an emergency. The number was 911, and he made his way toward the home phone. In his mind, this was the biggest emergency he'd ever been faced with, and he didn't even know for sure that his dad was okay.
Elijah grabbed the phone from the wall, and he dialed 911, hoping that he'd find some answers to his problem there. The person on the other end would end up being Sara.
A Slow Day At The 911 Call Center
On the day that Elijah called Sara, the operators had only taken a couple of calls. It was slow that day, which was a good thing. That meant that there weren't a lot of people in trouble. Sara and her coworkers passed the time by talking with one another and sharing stories. Little did they know, they were about to see a great story unfold right before their eyes.
Of course, they stayed focused on the phones and monitors while they spoke with one another. They had to make sure they didn't miss anything and that when a call came through, they answered it as quickly as possible.
Elijah And Sara Talk For The First Time
Usually, the other people on the line during 911 calls were adults. If there was a child calling 911, then the situation must've been really bad wherever they were. When Sara answered Elijah's call, she could tell that he was in distress. He was crying, and she did her best to calm him down. Elijah said, "S... ss... sir. It's my dad... Please help...." Sara asked him to stay right where he was.
Sara continued to try to calm him down so that she could get some more information about what was actually happening, but she hoped it wasn't anything too serious.
Sara's Training Kicks In
When you work as a 911 operator, you receive a lot of training about how to handle situations like these. You have to, since you spend your day talking to people who are under a lot of stress and may not be able to communicate effectively during an emergency. Sara's first job was to calm Elijah down so that he could stop sobbing and let her know what had happened.
Sara needed to know exactly what was going on so that she could figure out who to alert in addition to the police. Did Elijah or someone else need an ambulance, or was there a fire?
Trying To Get Some Answers
It isn't unheard of for a young child to call 911. After all, they're known for getting on a phone and pressing random buttons, and 911 is a short combination of numbers. However, there are also instances when a child calling 911 can mean that something very wrong has happened and the adults aren't physically able to call for help. Sara had no idea which one of these situations she was dealing with.
So, she asked Elijah what his dad looked like, trying to get as much information as possible out of him. Elijah responded back that his dad was “unfair with no hair.”
Sara Lets Out A Sigh Of Relieve
Not long after she managed to get Elijah to calm down, she began to figure out just what kind of situation she was dealing with. Elijah started asking Sara all kinds of different questions, like if there was a law against promising someone chicken nuggets and not following through. He asked her if she arrests people through the phone and all kinds of random questions you might imagine a toddler to ask.
Between trying not to laugh and fielding some of Elijah's questions, Sara managed to get him to tell her about what had happened that evening leading up to his call.
Sara And Elijah Both Try And Remain Calm
Even though it was clear that Elijah wasn't in any immediate danger, Sara still had to stay on the phone with him to make sure that it stayed that way. She dispatched an officer to go by the house and make sure that everything was truly fine, and she let Elijah know that you couldn't get arrested for not following through on promises of chicken nuggets. He was not happy.
And despite his situation, Elijah seemed to be in good spirits. He was calm now and his curiosity was really shining. And it turned out that curiosity would end up bringing a secret out into the light.
Police Arrive At Elijah's Home
It didn't take long for the cops to get to Elijah's house. Luckily, even though Elijah was only just a toddler, he was able to give Sara his address. She told him that it was okay to answer the door for them. It's unclear what state Elijah lives in, but a couple of states do have laws against leaving a young child at home by themselves if they haven't reached a certain age.
Sara stayed on the phone with Elijah through the entire process, even when the police arrived at the house. Fortunately, once the police arrived, they also found that there was no immediate danger.
Elijah Keeps Everyone Entertained
When the police were first called to the home, they probably didn't expect the visit to be as entertaining as it was. Elijah continued to talk to Sara on the phone while the officers were there, and he even told her about something called "pizza spaghetti," which nearly made her lose her composure and start laughing. Her coworkers saw this and wondered what young Elijah could be saying that was so funny.
Everyone was enjoying their time, but there was still the question of where Elijah's parents were. The police could only wait there for so long before they'd be forced to take him with them back to the station.
Elijah's Parents Were Nowhere To Be Found
Everyone was having a good time, but in the back of the their minds, they all wondered where the young boy's parents were. He shouldn't have been left alone like this and while the call might not have seemed very serious, Elijah was still right in reaching out for help. Nobody had any answers on this fr
Luckily, it turned out that Elijah had been great in providing Sara with all kinds of details about his father that she could use in her hunt for his identity.
Searching For Elijah's Father
Elijah had told Sara his father's name, so she went online to find out who he was. And if the name wasn't enough, she could rely on his descriptions of him, or "Biggy McBald-pants," as he referred to him. She also knew that he always wore a hat in his photos to "hide the nut," according to Elijah. Thanks to all the detailed info from Elijah, it didn't take her long to find his Facebook profile.
However, while Elijah's questions about "Santa Claus farts" had made the interaction entertaining up until now, what Sara found was a lot more heartbreaking than Elijah's fun and curious personality suggested.
Family Troubles At Home
It turned out that Elijah's humor hid a tragic family secret. It didn't take long for Sara to notice that something may have been happening with Elijah's home life after finding the Facebook page. There were a lot of posts from a few months back that indicated Elijah's father and mother were going through a messy divorce. And that messy divorce no doubt played out at home around Elijah.
Suddenly, it made sense why Elijah was so entertaining and seemed to refer to his dad by all kinds of different names. He probably did it as a coping mechanism.
Elijah May Have Been Using Humor To Cope
After finding the posts referring to the divorce, some things started to make sense, but that still didn't answer the question of where Elijah's father was. Even if he was going through a messy divorce, it didn't make sense to leave Elijah at home by himself for hours without adult supervision. Still, that did seem to be the only factor that could possibly be tied to Elijah's dad's disappearance.
The only question was how the two related and what could be so important to keep Elijah's dad away from home for so long when he knew young Elijah was likely to be awake.
A Collection Of Really Personal Posts
The more Sara looked through the Facebook posts, the more she found referring to the breakup. Elijah's father had posted nearly everything about the breakup on social media, and he didn't seem to care who saw what he posted. Even worse, he said some not-so-nice things about the whole situation and even some posts that seemed to be aimed at young Elijah. She continued to talk with Elijah while looking through the posts.
She did all this while answering Elijah's questions, like “Where do chicken nuggets come from? Chicken mountains?” Despite all of the posts, there was no reason to think Elijah's father was dangerous or in some kind of danger himself.
Elijah Is Taken To The Station
The officers couldn't stay at the house forever, and while none of the posts seemed to indicate Elijah's father was dangerous, Sara still thought it best that Elijah be taken to the station. So, the cops asked Elijah to come with them, which didn't take much convincing. “Are you arresting me for ‘kid napping’?” he asked, before happily following the officers to their cop car and informing them that he'd drive them to the station.
When he asked the officers if he was being arrested, they laughed and just told Elijah that no, he wasn't being arrested. They just needed him to come back to the station with them.
Sara Leaves To Meet Elijah
Sara knew that no matter what ended up happening to Elijah, he was safe in the hands of the officers. He'd be well taken care of at the station, and knowing Elijah, he'd probably make a lot more friends after getting there. However, she still thought it was important to go and meet him there, just in case he started feeling lonely or the police needed a statement from her.
Her manager agreed to let her go a few minutes early, so she made sure to make a copy of her and Elijah's conversation before leaving for the station and meeting her young friend.
Trying To Contact Elijah's Mother
When Sara got to the station, she learned that the police had been trying to contact Elijah's father while his son was being processed. They had no more luck than Sara, and it seemed like his phone was turned completely off. Even worse, it was also proving difficult to get in contact with Elijah's mother for some reason. After Sara told the officers about the Facebook posts she'd found, they agreed to focus on getting in touch with Elijah's mother.
At this point, contacting the father seemed like an impossible task. The officers were also a bit curious as to why Sara decided to come all the way down to the station.
Sara Makes Her Way To Elijah
After Sara told the officers that she'd brought a recording of their entire conversation, she gladly made another copy and gave it to them just in case they'd need it for their case. She then started making her way to where Elijah was being held. He was the only child in the entire station, so it wasn't too hard to find him. When she did see Elijah, he was talking to someone from child protection.
She couldn't make out what the two were talking about, but she could take a guess. Whatever it was, the woman from child protection was leaning forward and listening intently.
Sara Introduces Herself To Elijah
Sara didn't want to disturb the interview, so she just stood in the back of the room for a little while. But Elijah's eyes eventually met her own, and Sara introduced herself as the woman from the phone. Elijah jumped up and ran full speed towards Sara, jumping into her arms and giving her a huge hug. The woman from child protection looked at Sara and asked if she was Elijah's mom.
Sara admitted that she wasn't. She explained that she worked at the 911 call center and that she'd spoken to Elijah on the phone. The woman seemed even more confused than before.
Sara Lets Child Protection In On What Happened
Sara and Elijah chatted for a couple of minutes. Sara needed to make sure that he was still calm and wasn't feeling sad or lonely at the station. After a little while, Elijah's mind wandered off to other subjects, and he walked over to the corner and started reading a book. That's when the woman from child protection looked at Sara and asked if she could explain what had happened.
Sara started going over the entire story, from the time she picked up the phone to the time she arrived at the station, making sure to mention the Facebook posts and all of Elijah's antics.
But Why Was Sara There?
After Sara finished telling the woman everything that had happened and everything she knew, the woman asked her why she'd come to the station. Sara felt a bit embarrassed, but she told the woman that she wanted to make sure the police had all of the information they needed. She also wanted to check up on Elijah and make sure he was doing okay after everything he'd been through.
Finally, heading to the station allowed Sara to leave work early. When she said this, she looked over at Elijah and thought that she saw him smirk a bit.
Shedding Some Light On Elijah's Family Life
The woman from child protection told Sara that she'd been struggling to get Elijah to talk about his family life at home. The only thing she got him to say was that his father was a "silly Billy," whatever that meant. It was now clear to her that Sara had somehow managed to get a lot of information out of Elijah, and his family situation at home was starting to become clearer.
To the woman from child services, it seemed like Elijah's father was struggling to be a good dad because his son reminded him of Elijah's mother. So, he was likely neglecting the young boy.
Elijah Was Aware Of The Situation
Elijah was only just a child, but it quickly became clear that he was aware of what was happening at home. Even a small child can sense when they're not wanted around, especially when it comes to a parent. Elijah wasn't allowed to play or joke around when his dad was near, so he did so when he was away, at his father's expense. It was a coping mechanism.
Elijah knew that his father didn't like him joking around, so now he was starting to wonder if he was going to get in trouble when his dad finally did show up.
Trying To Reassure Elijah
The more Sara and the woman from child protection tried to reassure Elijah that his dad did care for him, the sadder the situation got. Every time they'd bring up his father, Elijah would make a joke about his father. It was funny earlier when Elijah was on the phone, but now it was clear Elijah was coping with the whole situation using humor, and even he seemed to sound a bit sadder now.
Still, the two pressed on and tried to get some more information from Elijah about what life was like with his dad at home and how all of it made him feel.
It Was Just Elijah And His Dad At Home
Since he'd gotten to the station, Elijah seemed to act like he preferred to be alone. He even said that he was having fun when he woke up and found out that his dad was gone. Now, Elijah seemed like he was perfectly content with staying at the station and just being left alone by himself. It made sense that he'd be comfortable by himself when the two women learned he was an only child.
The woman from child protection asked if Elijah wished if he had someone to talk to at home, and Elijah replied that he would like to have someone to talk to at home.
Elijah Was Being Severely Ignored
The more the two learned about Elijah's homelife, the more concerned they got. Apparently, Elijah's father completely ignored his son to the point that Elijah started talking to himself and even pretending that he was talking to his dad and his dad was talking back. He'd promise himself that he would take Elijah to Disneyland and fix him chicken nuggets. It was also how he managed to come up with some of his jokes about his father.
His father may have been physically at the house most of the time, but emotionally, Elijah may as well have been living by himself as if his father wasn't even there.
Someone Gets In Touch With Elijah's Mom
After what seemed like a very long conversation, someone finally came into the room where all three of them were and told Sara and the woman from child protection that Elijah's mom was on the way. They said that she'd seemed extremely concerned to learn her son was being held at the police station and that she had no idea things were so bad at home. She would be there in a bit.
When Elijah heard the news, his face suddenly brightened, and it actually seemed like he was happy to hear it. It was clear that he viewed his mom differently from his father.
How Elijah Ended Up With His Dad
Both women were curious as to how Elijah ended up with his father when he seemed to loathe him compared to his mother. When his mom finally got to the station, she explained that when the two separated, she gave Elijah the freedom to choose who he wanted to stay with, and he chose his father. Looking back, it wasn't a great choice, but there was little that could've been done up to this point.
That's not to say that there aren't a ton of really great single dads out there because there are. However, it was clear that Elijah was probably better off with his mom.
The 911 Call Is Leaked To The Press
A couple of days later, snippets of Sara and Elijah's 911 call were playing all over the news. Sara hadn't given it to anyone in the media, but everyone at work and at the police station had access to it. Either way, it was out in the public now, and Elijah's father, who had been found at that point, wasn't happy. The recording didn't paint him in the best light.
Elijah's father was calling the police station demanding that someone find out who leaked the recording, and he was demanding to speak with Sara, although it was unclear why he'd be upset with the person who made sure his son was alright.
His Complaints Got Him Nowhere
Despite all of the calling and all of the complaining, there wasn't much Elijah's father could do. If he did decide to keep complaining or go to the police to try and make his case, then they'd no doubt look into what was happening at home with him and his son. He was already lucky that he wasn't being charged with any type of crime, so he eventually just dropped the whole thing.
Elijah was also no longer living with his father anymore. His mom was now taking care of him full-time, and there was no way that he'd be left alone again.
Divorce Had A Negative Effect On Elijah
Elijah's parents' divorce was no doubt hard on everyone, but it was Elijah who ended up suffering the most. Divorce is hard, and it always affects people differently. Some children are more affected than others when their parents decide to split up, and unfortunately for Elijah, he was like many young children who are caught between parents. Fortunately, someone noticed that something was wrong before things got too bad.
Elijah having to call 911 was bad, but it could've been worse, and in the end, he ended up leaving his father's house and moving in with his mom, where he had someone to take care of him and give him all the attention he needed.