Sheriff's complaints belied by recording

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Dispatchers at the 911 center in Charleston actually did call the sheriff first.

During the Mississippi County Commission meeting May 30, Sheriff Keith Moore said protocol was not followed by dispatchers during a May 27 call of a fisherman reported missing from his boat on Upper Big Lake. Moore said the sheriff's office was not contacted initially.

Robert Hearnes, director of the Charleston Department of Public Safety, played a recording during a Thursday county commission meeting where a 911 dispatcher could be heard receiving the call and immediately calling the sheriff's department dispatch.

Hearnes went through the timeline according to his dispatching records.

Oscar Shannon, 65, of Sikeston, Mo., was last seen at 10:30 a.m. May 27.

The 911 call reporting Shannon's boat on the water without him on it was received at 12:05 p.m. The 911 dispatcher asked the sheriff's dispatcher whether the county rescue squad should be called and was told "yes." The 911 dispatcher then called the rescue squad.

Danny Harris, rescue squad director, said at the time he was called, "all we knew was that somebody fell off a boat."

Harris called the Sikeston Department of Public Safety to have another boat and additional personnel for the presumed rescue response.

Commissioner Darrell Jones asked why Sikeston DPS was called.

"It is always better to get them on the way," Harris said. "You can always cancel."

A cancellation was what happened next. At 12:12 p.m., a sheriff's dispatcher called 911 dispatch, directed it to cancel the rescue squad's response and have the rescue squad director contact the sheriff's office.

At 12:16 p.m., Harris arrived at the lake as the first responder.

At 12:23 p.m., the rescue squad was advised by the sheriff's department to cancel the Sikeston DPS response and stand by until a deputy arrived, which happened at 12:36 p.m.

"We like to assess what we've got ourselves," Moore said.

Moore said his department correctly identified the situation as being a body recovery operation and not a water rescue. The body was recovered about 2 p.m.

Hearnes said he questions whether anyone should be canceling the dispatch of other responding agencies before they have arrived on the scene, where an adequate assessment can be made.

Commissioner Darrell Jones said the emergency response leaders need to "get a protocol" in writing for various call types.