Eight-year-old Ryan Crosby sat at his kitchen table, staring at his math homework with furrowed brows. “How am I supposed to solve this one?” he murmured, flipping through his textbook. With the assignment due the next day and no one around to help, Ryan did something no one could have predicted—he dialed 911.
“911, what’s your emergency?” asked the dispatcher, ready for anything. What she heard next, however, was far from typical. “I need help with math,” Ryan said sincerely.
Surprised, the dispatcher clarified, “You need help… with your homework?” Ryan replied, “Yes. My mom always says if I need help and I’m scared, I should call 911.” It was Halloween night in Madison, a time when prank calls aren’t uncommon, so the operator was cautious. But Ryan’s voice sounded genuine.
“Ryan, this line is for emergencies,” she explained gently. “Is there anything else going on?” That’s when Ryan added something concerning: he was home alone. That changed everything.
The dispatcher stayed on the line while officers were dispatched to Ryan’s home. When police arrived around 10 p.m., they were greeted by the young boy holding his math book. The officers asked, “Ryan, where’s your mom?” He explained that he’d used a spare key to enter the house after school, but his mom hadn’t returned home.
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