By Mollie Durkin
The York Dispatch
YORK COUNTY, Pa. — One York County 911 dispatcher was at the right place at the right time on Saturday.
Maria Cataldo, 2, of Dallastown was reported missing at 5:50 p.m. Friday, so county police dispatcher Amy Grimes was on full alert when she came into work at midnight.
Throughout her eight-hour shift, she did what she could to help police find the gold 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier that might contain Maria and the caregiver who allegedly abducted her.
Grimes left work with the search unfinished, but on the drive back to her Peach Bottom Township home, she struck gold.
Found: At 8:14 a.m. Saturday, Grimes said she saw the car at Freysville and Windsor roads in Windsor Township. She pulled over and waited for it to pass.
The driver, Jasmine Myers, matched the description of the caregiver, and Grimes said she made sure it was the right license plate — there was no doubt in her mind, this was it.
While on the phone with 911, she said, Grimes followed Myers down Lombard Road — and saw the little girl raise her arm in the backseat.
“That was the home run,” said Grimes, 29.
Less than 2 miles later, she said, a police officer appeared behind her and made the arrest.
Police charged Myers, 27, with general impairment and endangering the welfare of children, documents state.
‘Higher power': Finding a missing toddler isn’t something that Grimes had done before, she said.
The Kennard-Dale High School graduate said she was full of adrenaline after finding the little girl. By the end of the ordeal, Maria had been missing for more than 15 hours.
“I just sat there and cried,” Grimes said. “I was so happy.”
She said she’s not very religious, but she believes the opportunity to be an act of God.
“I think it’s from a higher power,” she said.
York County spokesman Carl Lindquist said the odds of being in the 911 dispatch center that night, being responsible for distributing information and then coming across it on the way home from work are slim.
“It’s nothing short of a miracle,” he said.
Help: Grimes said she connected with Maria’s mom, Desiree Schubert, on Facebook and that the two are planning to meet privately.
Schubert said in a Facebook message that she’s upset about what happened to Maria but is glad that she’s now home safe.
The whole incident has created the opportunity for good, too, she said.
“I am just really surprised at how many people have come together to find Maria and how many people are asking what they can do to help Maria and I,” Schubert wrote.
Maria’s grandmother, Ann Grove, created a fundraising webpage for Schubert, who works at least two jobs at all times and had Myers as a roommate for financial reasons, the website states.
The GoFundMe account is raising funds so that Schubert can afford her apartment without a roommate, as well as quality babysitting for Maria. Schubert said she hasn’t gotten the chance to speak with Myers since the incident.
Visit the page at www.gofundme.com/pi65w4.
Copyright 2015 The York Dispatch