Cops Arrive on Call and See Little Girl Who Lives Alone in Old House — Story of the Day

A police officer and his partner responded to a distress call made by a seven-year-old girl living alone in an old house and found out what happened to her mother.

"Hello? Hello?" the girl said as soon as someone picked up the phone on the other line. "This is 911, what's your emergency?" the emergency hotline agent replied.

"My stomach hurts so much," the little girl said through the pain. As part of their protocol, the 911 responder immediately asked, "What's your location?"

Benjamin Spleen nodded his head as he quickly wrote down the address and reassured the little girl that first responders had been alerted. "Help is on the way, just hold on, okay?" he said.

Officer Kelly and his partner Amos were seated in their police cruiser, which was parked at an intersection in the busy city of New York. The two had just taken a break from patrolling their district and had decided to grab a bite to eat before returning to work. Amos was in the middle of telling his partner what he called his "Little pellets" as they wolfed down their hamburgers.

The pellets were jokes Amos claimed could make even the most sadistic person laugh, but in truth, the only reason Kelly reacted to them was because of how ridiculous they were.

That day, Amos was going on and on about animals and what they said whenever they wished to cross a road. Kelly was about to shut him up as usual when the dispatch radioed in about the little girl's call for help.

The two men were the closest to her location, so Kelly quickly picked up his radio to announce that they would head over there Immediately. "And I was just about to reach the climax of those jokes," Amos pouted while Kelly secretly rejoiced. "You'll have your chance, my man," he said with a smile.

When they arrived at the girl's location, Kelly and Amos walked to the door and knocked. They repeated the action several times, but no one answered the door.

When Amos tried the lock, they discovered the door had been left unlocked, so they entered. "Hello?" Kelly called out, listening intently for a reply. "Perhaps no one is home?" Amos wondered aloud. "I'll check upstairs," his partner replied.

As he reached the top flight of stairs, he immediately heard sobbing and went on high alert, catching himself just before he pulled out his gun and startled the girl who stood in the doorway leading to her bedroom. She was dressed in cozy-looking pajamas, and she held a medium-sized teddy in her arms.

"What's the matter, little one?" Kelly asked gently as he eased towards her slowly. "I'm hungry, and my tummy hurts," she said. "Where are your parents?" he asked when he reached her.

"My mom left to go and buy us food from my favorite Chinese restaurant, but she hasn't returned." "What's your name, little child?" Kelly asked. "Penelope," she answered. "Don't worry Penelope, we'll help you find your mom," he replied.

They took the little girl to a cafeteria to buy her food, and she quickly warmed up to Amos because she kept laughing at his ridiculous jokes. Of course, it had been Kelly's idea to distract her while he inquired about her mother's whereabouts.

Officer Kelly later found out that her mom never returned because she got into a vehicular crash and had been injured in the accident. But rather than tell her that, Kelly decided he would assume responsibility for the child until her mother was discharged from the hospital. She had walked away from the accident with a slight concussion and several scratches, which meant she would be released once she woke.

The two kind officers spent the rest of the day with Penelope, taking her on a sightseeing tour of New York, and they also kept her well-fed. She was so engaged that she didn't have to worry about her mother until she noticed at night that they were headed away from the direction of her home.

"It's that way," she said in confusion. "Your mom will be away for some more time, little one, she needs you to wait for her, can you do that?" Kelly asked.

They had hoped the woman would have regained consciousness and returned to her home by nightfall, but that did not happen, and they could not leave the little girl alone to fend for herself. Kelly decided he would care for the little girl until her mother returned. He told her that her mother was on a long journey but would return anytime for her.

"Until then, you'll have to be a good girl while waiting for her, okay?" he told her. He also assured her he would remain with her that night to watch over her. Kelly continued to watch over the girl like that for three days, after which her mother regained consciousness.

When the woman was to be discharged, Kelly drove Penelope there in his cruiser, watched in tears as mother and daughter were reunited, then he drove them back to their home.

Penelope's mother did not stop thanking him for caring for her daughter, and from that day forward, Kelly and Amos would occasionally stop by to say hello to the girl and tell her more ridiculous jokes she giggled at.

What did we gain from this story?

• Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. When Kelly and Amos responded to the dispatch, all they had to do was make sure things were okay; instead, they went the extra mile by taking care of the child pending the time her mother would be released from the hospital.
• Teach your kids how to react in an emergency. When Penelope's mother did not return home on time, the little girl did not just remain silent as she waited at home hungry; she reached out to relevant authorities to report what she considered an emergency. This time it was a simple matter, but Penelope would no doubt have known to reach out to the authorities if it had been a more complex situation.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a policeman who answerscall from a crying kid who says his mother is gone.

This account is inspired by our reader’s story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com