Policemen Respond to Call and Find Little Girl Who Lives Alone in an Old House — Story of the Day

A police officer and his partner were dispatched after a distress call was made by an 8-year-old girl to 911. The little girl had been living alone in an old house after what happened to her mother.

"Excuse me.. hello? Hello?" a little girl said through the phone.

"911, what's your emergency?" the operator asked.

"My stomach is very painful, sir," the little girl responded quietly.

After asking a couple more questions, the operator noted her location and dispatched a policeman to check on her right away. "Help is on the way, little girl. Hold on."

Officer Peter Stump and his partner James Smith were in their cruiser when they were paged to check on the little girl. They had just finished patrolling the area and were taking a quick break.

They were munching on some hamburgers, talking about a couple of jokes that Stump had discovered from his children. He was in the middle of telling one when they got paged.

The officers were taking a break when they received a call to check on a little girl. | Photo: Shutterstock

"Better luck next time with your jokes, my dude," his partner said, laughing.

They drove to the house, which was about five minutes away from where they were. When they arrived at the location situated in a quiet street in New Jersey, the officers knocked on the door. After several knocks and no one answering, they tried to open the door.

It turned out to be unlocked, so they took a step inside. "Hello? Police," Officer Smith said, waiting for a response.

"Is anyone here?" Officer Stump asked.

They decided to take a quick look around the house, with officer Smith going up the stairs. As soon as he reached the top, he heard a little girl sobbing. There, he saw the little girl sitting on the floor by her room, clutching her stomach.

"What's the matter, little girl?" he asked, walking towards her.

"I'm really hungry. My tummy hurts a lot," she cried.

A little girl was crying as she was really hungry. | Photo: Pexels

"Where are your parents?" he asked.

"It's only me and my mommy at home. My mom left to buy us some food from my favorite restaurant, but she's still not home," she explained.

"What's your name sweetheart?"

"My name is Stella. Stella Jackson," she said.

They took the little girl to a small eatery, and it wasn't hard for her to feel comfortable around the officers. Stump was able to tell her some jokes, and she kept laughing at them.

Later on, they found out that her mother was in a nearby hospital after she got into a car accident while on the way back home. She suffered a concussion and a few minor bruises. Officer Stump didn't want the girl to feel scared, so he decided to take responsibility for the child until her mother came back.

The officers took responsibility for Stella while her mother was in the hospital. | Photo: Pexels

The officers spent the entire afternoon with Stella. They drove to New York City and showed her all the sights. They also allowed her to choose any restaurant she wanted to eat in for dinner. Everything was going well until Stella noticed they weren't going towards the direction of her place that night.

"I live over at Downey Street to the left, we're going the opposite direction," she said after the officer took a right.

"Your mom will be away for a while, Stella, but she asked you to wait for her. Is that okay?" Officer Smith asked.

The little girl nodded, trusting the police officers who just spent the day with her. She didn't ask a lot of questions, but she had faith that her mom would come back in the next couple of days.

While they thought Stella's mother would be discharged by the end of the day, the results of a couple of tests required her to stay at the hospital. Officer Stump took care of the little girl for four days, until her mother finally regained her consciousness.

Stella and her mother Cindy were happy to be reunited. | Photo: Pexels

That day, Officer Stump drove Stella to the hospital, where the mother and daughter reunited. They exchanged long tight hugs before he drove them home in his cruiser. There, Stella's mom, Cindy, couldn't stop thanking the officers for their kindness.

What did we learn from this story?

• Whatever you do, do it well. As Officer Smith and Officer Stump are police officers, all they had to do was check on Stella and see if she was okay. They went above and beyond their duties by taking care of the little girl while her mother was still in the hospital.
• Be sure to teach your kids what to do during emergencies. Oftentimes, children do not know how to react to emergencies. However, when Stella's mother did not return in time for lunch that day, Stella did not hesitate to call 911. She thought it was an emergency that she was hungry and her mom wasn't home, and it was the right thing to do as it saved her from being alone for a couple of days.

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Did you enjoy this story? You might like this one about a police officer who went above and beyond his duties by purchasing furniture and a television set for a troubled teen who lived in a bare room.

This account is inspired by our reader’s story and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.