HOLBROOK — Chief William Smith of the Holbrook Police Department and Director Stephan Hooke of the Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center are pleased to report that together both agencies helped rescue a family from a coyote encounter earlier today.
At approximately 11:40 a.m., the Holbrook Department of Public Works received a call from a female party who was walking with her two children in the Holbrook Town Forest when she was trapped on a walking trail about a mile out by a large coyote.
The Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center initiated a call with the mother minutes later, confirming that she was still with her two children and that the coyote was pacing back and forth for some time nearby.
HRECC relayed this information to Holbrook Police, who then conducted a search of the woods in the area of Park Drive. Abington Animal Control also responded to the scene to assist as it was believed the coyote was likely protecting a den, which is common this time of year.
At the scene, first responders could not immediately identify the exact location of the family within the woods. While on the phone with HRECC, the mother emailed her location to dispatchers who then shared the coordinates and relayed the family’s location based on area landmarks with responding officers.
Detective Scott Glover deployed the Holbrook Police Department Drone and after a brief search of the area, was able to confirm the trapped family’s location near the power lines using the drone’s thermal imaging camera and information provided by HRECC.
Dispatch remained on the phone with the mother until Holbrook Police made contact with her and the two children. Once located by the power lines, Deputy Chief William Marble was able to safely escort the family out of the woods back to their car without any injuries.
“The collaborative, multi-agency work between the Department of Public Works, Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center, Abington Animal Control and Holbrook Police allowed for a well-executed search of the area that resulted in the rescue of the family,” Chief Smith said. “I commend the quick action of all the individuals involved with this rescue.”
Added Director Hooke, “We would like to thank the members of the Department of Public Works who quickly informed us of the family trapped inside the woods. With the use of the What3words app, we were able to use information relayed to us by the mother to identify area landmarks near the trapped family, which assisted police in their rescue efforts.”
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