Pictured are Public Safety Telecommunicator Kevin Reilly (left to right), Olivia Berrien, Lynda Berrien, Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel, Burlington County Department of Public Safety Deputy Director John Fine, Public Safety Telecommunicator Crystal Leaper, Burlington County Central Communications Chief Chris Carroll, Burlington County Department of Public Safety Executive Supervisor Kevin Briggs and Pemberton Township Police Chief John Glass.
The Burlington County Commissioners have recognized two of the county’s Central Communications public safety telecommunicators for their outstanding service assisting two children who called 911 after becoming lost in the woods.
Crystal Leaper and Kevin Reilly were honored with certificates, along with the Pemberton Township Police Department, during the commissioners’ public meeting on Oct. 8.
“The public safety telecommunicators at Central Communications may go unseen, but their skills and service are essential to the safety of both our residents and first responders,” said Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel, liaison to the county Department of Public Safety.
The incident happened last year when Central Communications received an emergency call from 9-year-old Olivia Berrien, who reported that she and her friend were lost in a Pemberton Township wooded area. Leaper fielded the initial call and was able to keep the two girls calm while starting the process of identifying their location.
Pemberton police also responded to the area of Pole Branch Forest, where the girls’ cell phone signal was traced.
The 911 call was next transferred to Reilly, who was able to teach one of the girls how to open and use a compass app on her cell phone. Using that for navigation assistance, he was able to guide the girls through the woods to nearby Wissahickon Trail, where Pemberton officer Tyler Reynolds-Vezos located them. Both were safely returned home.
Berrien received a certificate of recognition for her bravery and composure during the incident. Leaper has worked at Central Communications since 2014, and Reilly began his career with the county as a juvenile corrections officer in 2009. He joined Central Communications in 2020.
