When 15-year-old Doyin Oladipupo heard a group of men breaking in while she was home alone in Chula Vista, California, she hid in her parents’ locker and called 911, reports ABC News.
“I took my shoes off because I didn’t want them to hear me, and I grabbed (the phone),” Oladipupo told ABC News in 2013.
Rivera, a seasoned police dispatcher who had accumulated 12 years of work experience at the time, answered Oladipupo’s call.
“…the parents are both at work. Well, please hurry,” Oladipupo can be heard saying on the 911 call.
“Yes, we are on our way. We also have a helicopter on our way,” Rivera told Oladipopo.
Rivera had to keep Oladipupo calm as the situation escalated. Eventually, the intruders got so close to Oladipupo’s hideout that you could hear them talking when calling 911.
“We’ve all been trained to stay calm, give her the help she needs, and tell her she’s not alone,” Rivera explained in an interview with ABC News.
With intruders growing closer to Oladipupo, Rivera began whispering not to draw attention to the girl’s status. And then, with a bit of quick thinking, Rivera had an idea. Instead of Oladipupo responding verbally, I asked the teenager to just press the phone to communicate.
“My daughter is strong,” Adebisi Genado, a parent, told ABC News. “I didn’t even know how strong she was, and the police told me what happened. She has inner strength and she showed up yesterday.”
Rivera remained calm the entire time and became Oladipupo’s savior. She asked the teenager to use those taps to answer “yes” or “no” to a series of questions that would allow Rivera to send the police to Oladipupo.
After a short time that felt like an eternity, the thieves decided to flee the crime scene. But thanks to Oladipupo, the police were already on their way. Miraculously, law enforcement managed to catch the robbers in the act as they attempted to escape.
Rivera stayed on the phone with Oladipupo until police arrived at her home, helping her stay calm even as intruders approached her hideout. Without Rivera’s comfort, Oladipupo says, she might not have had the courage she needed to survive the ordeal.
“It helped me a lot because if I hadn’t been on the phone with someone, I probably would have freaked out,” the brave teenager told ABC News.
