Quick thinking by Delaware police dispatchers saves boaters in distress in English Channel

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When a police dispatcher in Dover, Delaware, answered a frantic call about a boat that was sinking in the English Channel — 3,600 miles away across the Atlantic Ocean — she didn’t panic.

Instead, Mackenzie Atkinson quickly determined the caller had mistaken the Delaware capital city for the city in England it was named for after conducting an internet search for “Dover Police Department.”

The caller that day in late August was in the eastern European nation of Albania, and he was desperate to help his brother, whose boat was off the coast of Dover, England.

Atkinson kept the caller on the phone, gathering more information such as the boater’s latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates, rather than wasting critical time trying to refer the caller to a number overseas.

Using her new skills taught by the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch, Atkinson followed the protocols for a vessel in distress. She kept talking to the caller, while colleague Connor Logan made international notifications about the nautical emergency.

Within four minutes, the Delaware operators made contact with the French Coast Guard, His Majesty’s Coast Guard of England, and police in the Delaware town’s namesake in England.

Their quick and precise actions paid off.

Barely 15 minutes after the initial call, rescue crews were on their way to the boat in peril. All persons on board and the boat returned safely to port in England.

On Thursday, the city issued a release about the successful transatlantic rescue effort and announced that the dispatchers will be receiving a Distinguished Unit Commendation.

Police Chief Thomas Johnson Jr. raved about his team’s work during the crisis across the Atlantic.

“When folks hear me say that ‘I work with great people,’ they usually infer that I’m talking about sworn police officers.  But let me just set the record straight that I mean everybody when I say that,’’ Johnson said.

He said the force has “extraordinary civilian contributors” who “never get enough credit for being first responders. In this case, their ability to coordinate an international rescue effort while maintaining the safety of our local community is a testament to their exceptional skill and commitment.”