RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — Randolph County Telecommunicator Cheyenne Allred was getting ready to end her shift on Dec. 29 when the phone rang.
She decided to take one more call before switching out with her colleagues who were coming in to work.
That final call would be the most intense of the day.
A distraught 13-year-old dialed 911 while on a Randolph County bridge. She called saying she was about to jump but didn’t know if she should.
“I just started trying to get her mind off of what she was thinking about doing,” Allred said.
In the 13-minute call, Allred asked the girl about her pets and her favorite class in school and reassured her that help was on the way.
Her words were anything but small talk.
“She was right there. It could have happened at any second,” she said.
She comforted the girl while sending critical information to deputies.
Deputy Chris Martin responded to the scene and pulled the girl away from the bridge.
“The fact that TC Allred has been doing this for less than a year and was able to knock this out of the park and establish that rapport as quickly as she did, I absolutely feel that she saved that girl’s life,” he said.
Martin told his lieutenant about the vital role Allred played in the response. Allred was awarded the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office “Sheriff’s Commendation.”
Allred hopes this award brings attention to the men and women who do this line of work all over the country.
“I don’t really like being in the spotlight, but I wanted to do this because I know a lot of TCs don’t get the recognition that they deserve,” she said.
Allred has since transitioned from emergency telecommunications to start training as an EMT.
