Lake County Sheriff’s Office Emergency 911 Telecommunicators are being credited for rescuing a victim who was being held against her will inside a vehicle during a harrowing ride from Grayslake to Buffalo Grove early Tuesday morning.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office 911 Telecommunications Center received a wireless 911 call from a “frantic” woman trapped inside a car with a violent man at 12:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, said Lake County Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli.
Covelli said it was immediately clear the woman was scared and having a loud argument with a person later identified as Hector O. Cortes Del Rio, 26, of the 38500 block of North Sheridan Road, Beach Park.
Sheriff’s telecommunicators utilized state-of-the-art equipment to track the location of the 911 caller and learned she was calling from the area of Route 45 and Center Street in Grayslake, Covelli said.
Sheriff’s telecommunicators could also tell the cellular phone was heading southbound in a vehicle, Covelli said.
While the 911 call-taker was on the phone with the victim obtaining information, other telecommunicators were dispatching deputies and notifying local police departments of the situation, Covelli said.
Covelli said the phone the victim was using disconnected and the 911 call-taker called back multiple times until he was able to reestablish contact with the victim.
The 911 call-taker heard Cortes Del Rio screaming at the frantic woman, who was pleading with the man to stop driving so recklessly, Covelli said. The call then disconnected.
Another sheriff’s telecommunicator researched the owner of the phone and located the victim’s information, telecommunicators contacted police in the victim’s hometown and asked them to go to the victim’s home to gain additional information about the victim.
A relative told local police officers the car the victim was in and that the victim was being held against her will, Covelli said.
Sheriff’s telecommunicators reestablished communications with the victim and could hear her crying and shouting for the man to stop the car.
Sheriff’s telecommunicators determined the vehicle was in Buffalo Grove, prompting telecommunications to alert Cook County police agencies of the situation, Covelli said.
The vehicle was soon located by a Prospect Heights police officer in Buffalo Grove, Covelli said. Police were able to stop the vehicle, allowing the victim to run to police officers, Covelli said.
Lake County Sheriff’s deputies noticed the woman had injuries to her face and body and made statements that Cortes Del Rio battered her and held her against her will.
The victim declined medical treatment, Covelli said.
Covelli said the victim and Cortes Del Rio are acquaintances and initially agreed to spend time together until Cortes Del Rio became violent.
Sheriff’s deputies reviewed the incident with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office who approved a single charge of Class 4 felony Unlawful Restraint and misdemeanor counts of Domestic Battery and Interfering with the Reporting of Domestic Violence.
Del Rio appeared in front of Lake County Associate Judge Gabriel Conroe in First Appearance Court Tuesday morning where the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office determined to not detain Del Rio until trial.
His next court appearance is unknown at this time.
“We are so fortunate to have incredibly professional and dedicated sheriff’s 911 emergency telecommunicators serving Lake County,” said Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg. “With their vast knowledge of the entire county, utilization of best practices, and the care they have for our community, our telecommunicators are consistently the calm behind the phone for people in some of their worst moments. In this case, they did an incredible job working to stay with the caller and figure out her location, ensuring she was safely rescued.”