Georgetown: On 6/22/2017, Delaware Probation and Parole officers from the Sussex County Electronic Monitoring Unit responded to a request for assistance from the Delaware State Police and Georgetown Police in attempting to locate a wanted offender. Police reported that a known probationer was making harassing and threatening phone calls, but they had been unable to locate him. The Probation Monitoring Center then activated on-call officers to assist Troopers and Police in their efforts.
On 6/23/17 at approximately 12:44 am, Probation Officers arrived at offender's reported address near Savannah Road, Georgetown. Being first on the scene, Probation began combing the area for the wanted subject. After searching an abandoned trailer and surrounding areas, officers were unable to locate the offender. Probation Officers then met Georgetown Police and informed them that the offender was known to camp out in the wooded area behind the local Walmart. Georgetown Police reported that Troopers had already tracked the offender's phone to that location and conducted an exhaustive search of the area, which included utilizing the Delaware State Police Helicopters, but were unable to locate offender and were terminating their search.
At approximately 1:05 am, Probation Officers decided to make one last attempt to locate the offender. Officers reported to the last known location provided by police. Upon arrival, officers activated the HG2020 Drive BI unit, a device that detects the frequency admitted by electronic monitoring equipment, when in proximity. After a few seconds, officers received an alert from the Drive BI that the offender's equipment was within range. Officers exited their vehicle and began searching on foot for the subject.
Within minutes, officers located the offender lying on the ground. Officer approached giving out multiple commands, but the offender remained unresponsive. Sensing there might be medical issues, officers quickly moved in and found the offender with orange saliva drooling from his mouth and down his face. Officers assessed the offender's vitals; his breathing was very shallow and he had an extremely elevated pulse. Nearby, officers located several empty prescription bottles; it was evident the offender had intentionally overdosed by ingesting all his prescribed medications (estimated 90+ pills). Officers immediately contacted SUSCOM and requested police and emergency medical assistance respond.
The officers were in a heavily wooded area and hard to locate. Luckily, these officers had one of the few probation vehicles in the state equipped with emergency lighting systems and were able to utilize that equipment so emergency services could find their location. Once EMS personnel arrived on the scene, officers helped load the offender into the ambulance and followed the transport to Nanticoke Memorial. After being treated for the overdose, the offender was admitted to the intensive care unit and placed on a ventilator. Officers stood by at the hospital until the admissions process was completed. According to doctors, the offender spent multiple days in the ICU and on the ventilator, but he is expected to make a full recovery. However, had it not been for these officers, the offender probably wouldn't have survived.
