SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. — Local 10 News obtained a 911 call that show how a quick-thinking dispatcher helped rescue two young children who were home alone in Sunny Isles Beach earlier this month.
The call came in on the morning of Oct. 15, when a 5-year-old girl dialed 911 to report a broken television.
“Hello, how can I help you?” the dispatcher asked.
“Our TV is not turning on,” the child replied. “We can’t watch anything.”
At first, it sounded like an innocent mistake — but the dispatcher quickly realized something wasn’t right. When asked if her parents were home, the girl said, “They’re at work.”
According to Sunny Isles Beach police, the girl and her 7-year-old brother had been left unsupervised in their apartment inside a gated community while their mother was working.
The mother later told officers she thought the children were with their father, who had gone out.
Sunny Isles Beach Lt. Melissa Porro told Local 10 the situation could have turned dangerous quickly.
“For starters, this is a high-rise building,” Porro said. “You have balconies, you have potential hazards, and these children were left completely alone.”
The 23-minute call shows the dispatcher keeping the young girl calm and engaged, asking gentle questions to figure out where she was. The child eventually provided her mother’s name and workplace, allowing police to locate her.
Authorities said officers then went to the home and found the siblings alone.
When their father, 38-year-old Stanley Jeanphillipe, returned, he told police he had gone to the library to use a printer and then walked to two nearby stores, leaving the children unsupervised for at least an hour, according to investigators.
“It was almost like she (the dispatcher) was babysitting these two kids,” Porro said.
Jail records show Jeanphillpe was arrested on a charge of child neglect without great bodily harm. He was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center and later posted a bond of $2,500.
Porro praised the dispatcher’s professionalism and instincts, saying this case highlights the importance of training and intuition in emergency communications.
Copyright 2025 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
