Delaware dispatchers help rescue sinking boat in Dover … England

Police in Dover, Delaware, helped save a boat stranded at sea more than 3,650 miles away when an emergency call meant for Dover, England, mistakenly went to local dispatchers on Aug. 27, 2024.

According to police, that day, at about 3:36 p.m., the Dover Police Department got an emergency call from an individual in Albania who said they needed help because their brother's boat was sinking into the English Channel off the coast of Dover, England.

Officials learned the individual had done a panicked internet search for the "Dover Police Department," and thought they were calling England, but instead called first responders in Delaware, thousands of miles away.

"Please, my brother called me, he's with a boat, they are going down," the caller can be heard saying in a recording of the emergency call. "They are almost in England, but their boat is leaking now. The engine don't work."

According to law enforcement officials, Communications Operator MacKenzie Atkinson kept the individual on the line and collected information -- including the coordinates of the ship at sea -- and followed the protocols to assist a ship in distress.

The boater was sailing from Calais, France 23 miles across the English Channel to Dover, England when it began to take on water.

"I just kept reassuring him we are going to have help on the way to his brother," Atkinson said.

As she spoke to the caller, officials said a fellow commutations operator, Connor Logan, made notifications internationally to alert agencies in England, France and the United States Coast Guard, in an effort to get help to the vessel as quickly as possible.

Googling the French and English Coast Guards didn't work initially, so Connor had to call a contact of his who got him in touch with the US Coast Guard who in turn got him to the French Coast Guard.

With thousands of miles separating them, something that could have taken hours to figure out who to call and coordinate agencies, took Atkinson and Connor four minutes to do.

"Just 15 minutes and 48 seconds after the initial call, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency confirmed they were on their way to rescue the vessel," officials said in a statement.

On Sept. 5, 2024, officials in Delaware learned that the ship -- and everyone aboard -- was safely returned to port in Dover, England.

"We get calls all the time where people are calling for like Dover, Ohio or wherever. Because when they look up Dover police department, we are the first one that pops up," Atkinson said. "I was glad we had a good outcome, and we were able to rescue them all the way from over here."

For their efforts, officials said, the group of communications operators have been nominated for a commendation.

“When folks hear me say that ‘I work with great people’, they usually infer that I’m talking about sworn police officers. But let me just set the record straight that I mean everybody when I say that," Chief Thomas Johnson of the Dover Police Department said in a statement. "The Dover Police Department has extraordinary civilian contributors to our public safety mission. Our Communications Operators are great examples of that and never get enough credit for being first responders. In this case, their ability to coordinate an international rescue effort while maintaining the safety of our local community is a testament to their exceptional skill and commitment.”