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Jessica Martin, a 9-1-1 dispatcher in Seguin, helped bring a woman to safety after she was being held against her will by a suspect.
Jessica Martin, a 9-1-1 dispatcher in Seguin, helped bring a woman to safety after she was being held against her will by a suspect.
Denera White, a 9-1-1 dispatcher in Seguin, helped bring a woman to safety after she was being held against her will by a suspect.
Denera White, a 9-1-1 dispatcher in Seguin, helped bring a woman to safety after she was being held against her will by a suspect.
Denera White texted with the victim in order to help police track down her whereabouts on the way to Austin from Seguin.
Denera White texted with the victim in order to help police track down her whereabouts on the way to Austin from Seguin.
Denera White texted with the victim in order to help police track down her whereabouts on the way to Austin from Seguin.
Denera White texted with the victim in order to help police track down her whereabouts on the way to Austin from Seguin.
Two Seguin telecommunications officers helped a woman being held against her will get to safety earlier this month during a tense search for her, according to a news release released Tuesday.
The incident occurred at about 5 p.m. on Feb. 10, when the Seguin Telecommunication Officers Dispatch Center received a 911 call coming from the 500 block of Interstate 10 West. Officers responded to the area after telecommunications officer Jessica Martin heard a man and woman arguing, with the man saying he wanted to commit suicide and that she was afraid of him, the release said.
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After the line was disconnected, Martin attempted several times to get back in contact with the victim. Meanwhile, officers were unable to find them at the scene where the phone call was made.
A dispatcher was able to get in contact with the victim again and learned the woman was being held against her will by a suspect, who was later identified as 41-year-old Enrique Leiner, according to the release.
“Hang in there…we will find you. Have faith” were some of the words shared with the victim during phone calls with the telecommunications officers, the news release said.
The telecommunications officers were able to contact the victim’s cellphone provider, which was able to “ping” the phone to provide a delayed location of where her phone was, the release said.
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The Austin Police Department and the Travis County Sheriff’s Office joined in on the search when it was found that the victim was traveling north on SH 130 Tollway, outside the city limits of Seguin toward Austin.
Telecommunications officer Denera White provided her personal cell phone number to the victim, and they started texting each other. The Austin Police Department’s air unit and the Travis County Patrol Division were able to located the male suspect and the victim, the release said.
Leiner was charged with unlawful restraint and was booked into the Travis County Jail.
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Seguin police officer Carlos Contreras said the two telecommunications officers involved displayed “extraordinary training and compassion” in helping bring the woman to safety and identifying someone in need of help.
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