Hancock RCC Dispatcher Receives Award

Hancock County Regional Community Center Communication Officer Erik Fitch was honored today, Thursday, May 3rd at the Doubletree Hotel in Portland  at the annual meeting for the Maine Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association. He received an award for the 2017 Critical Incident of the Year.

Fitch described the incident

"On November 19th 2017 a mother from out of state advised she got a text message from her daughter who was being held against her will at a blueberry farm in Hancock County. All we had was the daughter's cell phone. After querying previous calls and social media sites we were able to gather more info that helped track the female and allowed first responders to find her location. They started the exigent process with US Cellular and was able to determine that she was no longer in Hancock County. The phone was registering around Dysart's Truck Stop in Hampden. Contact was made with the daughter who needed help as she had been assaulted and needed medical help ASAP, Her capturer had a knife and was making threats to kill her. Officers from Hampden Police Department and the Maine State Police located her and the suspect and was able to get her to safety and to a hospital. A high speed chase began with the suspect and he was finally arrested in Newport. "

Fitch worked with Sue Warner from the State Police Dispatch in Bangor to bring this incident to conclusion. There were17 critical incidents submitted for the 2017 award and this incident above was awarded the Critical Incident of the Year.

Fitch won a "Silent Hero" Award for an incident in 2016