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Woman Alerts Police of Hostage Situation Through Pizza Hut App
mpicpp writes with this ABC News story about how a Pizza Hut app may have saved a woman's life. "A Florida mother held hostage by her boyfriend used the Pizza Hut app to notify police she needed help, authorities said. Cheryl Treadway, 25, was allegedly being held at knife point in her home by Ethan Nickerson, 26, in Avon Park on Monday, the Highlands County Sheriff's Office told ABC News today. 'She was held hostage by him all day,' Public Information Officer Nell Hays said. Nickerson took away Treadway's phone, police said, but she was eventually able to persuade him to let her order a pizza using her Pizza Hut app. 'She told him, "The kids are hungry. Let's order a pizza. Let's get them some food,"' Hays said, noting that's when Treadway was able to sneak in a written message through the delivery. Along with her order of a small, classic pepperoni pizza, she wrote: 'Please help. Get 911 to me,' according to police. She also wrote: '911hostage help!'"
If you work in an emergency call centre, most of the calls you get will be genuine emergencies. Though you might get the odd crank, when they start continuing on but acknowledging you ("Ma'am, this is an emergency line", "Yes, please", "Ma'am, we're not a pizza delivery", "No, no anchovies, thanks my husband hates them", "Ma'am, do you have an emergency?", "Yes, how long will it be?" etc.) it doesn't take a genius to work out what's happening.
Sure, you still get drunks, timewasters, etc. but if you even think for a second that there is a problem, you send out units anyway, even if just to avoid a repeat incident.
People are inherently skilled in conveying meaning without saying those particular words. It's a fabulous human skill. Even more fabulous when you can do it without alerting someone else listening in to one half of the conversation as to what's happening.
I have to say, one of the things I've always tried to pre-arrange is the "I'm in trouble call". If you call and use a certain keyword, that's me coming running. If you call and I ask if you're okay and you say "No, dur, I'm being taken hostage", then you're probably fine. If I say "Honestly, are you okay?" and you say "Yes, I'm fine", that's my cue to come running.
Pre-arrange such things with your family. Get a keyword between you. Or a private joke that you can deliberately ruin when you're actually in trouble. Something that others won't notice. Because the guy kidnapping your daughter might actually be that boyfriend she trusted and knows her well and that she has to phone daddy every Monday or he'll get suspicious, so he lets her but listens in. She might need that way to make herself known without anyone else noticing.