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911 emergency locators on Indy trails don't work

Posted at 11:18 AM, May 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-10 11:18:35-04

INDIANAPOLIS -- Part of Indianapolis' Master Greenways plan included placing new markers along the city's trails that told emergency dispatchers where you were if you called 911. 

The markers read, "911 Emergency Locator" and a 4-digit code. Indy Parks said when you call 911, they're connected to the exact coordinates of the sign's location. 

But the codes don't actually help in an emergency.

Call 6 Investigates performed a test 911 call from one of the trails with an IMPD officer nearby. The dispatcher had no idea what the codes were. The markers are currently up on portions of Fall Creek Trail, Pogue's Run, and the White River Trail. 

"It isn't coming up with anything," the 911 dispatcher said. 

At the Marion County 911 center, dispatchers said they'd never seen the signs before. 

"We don't know about, whoever calls us knows about it because they see it, but we don't see it," said Major Mike Hubbs of the Marion County Sheriff's Office.

None of the codes came up with a location for dispatchers. The dispatch center said they were never told the signs were being put up in the first place. 

"That is one of the hardest difficulties of being a dispatcher, you'll have someone call 911 for an emergency and simply they don't know where they are," Hubbs said. 

Indy Parks says it's working to properly integrate them with the city's 911 system, but they will be removed until the program is fully implemented. 

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