By Tom Quigley
Express-Times
CLINTON TWP., Penn. — A veteran township police officer saved the life of a woman who tried to commit suicide Friday after he reached out to other agencies in a frantic effort to locate her, authorities said Monday.
Patrolman Michael Akers and other officers responded to a Clinton Township home after the resident dialed 911 about 8:15 p.m. The man reported he had come home to find his 59-year-old wife missing and a suicide note she had left behind.
The man told police his wife was last heard from at 4:20 p.m. Friday and her vehicle was gone.
Police responded and took custody of a seven-page suicide note and several sticky notes found throughout the house, township police Lt. Ryan Melsky reported.
Melsky said police checked the residence and numerous locations in the area trying to find the woman or her vehicle. Her name was entered into a national police databank as a missing and endangered person.
An alert went out to area police departments, Melsky said. Police also tried reaching her on her cell phone without success.
Officials with the Hunterdon County Communications System stepped in and contacted the phone company. Together they tried to track the woman’s cell phone.
That gave police a general location in Greenwich Township, where there are a number of shopping malls and hotels.
Akers drove to the area and joined forces with police from Greenwich and Pohatcong townships. Police were checking for the woman’s vehicle when Akers found it in the Phillipsburg Inn parking lot on Route 22, Melsky said.
She was registered under her own name, and the motel manager took Akers to her room and unlocked the door, Melsky said.
The patrolman discovered the woman inside unresponsive but found she had a pulse and was breathing, Melsky said.
Akers discovered a strong odor of alcohol and believed she had taken prescription medication, Melsky said.
Paramedics responded and treated the woman before she was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital, Fountain Hill. She was listed in fair condition Monday night, police said.
Hunterdon County communications did a great job, Melsky said. In genuine emergency situations they are able to contact various resources, in this case the phone company, and cut through time-consuming methods of tracking someone down.
He said the woman’s name was being withheld by police because the incident did not occur in a public place and to avoid victimizing the family all over again.
Copyright 2009 Eastern Express-Times