Doña Ana County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a house north of Las Cruces Friday to assist with what they were told was a gunshot case. Moments later, they learned the emergency was actually 1,900 miles away in Bracey, Virginia.
Just after 12 p.m., Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority (MVRDA) received an emergency call that originated from a home in the 1800 block of Maverick Trail. The caller requested medical assistance after he allegedly shot his wife. The caller said the two had been in an argument, and his wife reportedly had threatened him with a knife.
Deputies arrived in the 1800 block of Maverick Trail where they determined no one was home. Dispatchers with MVRDA quickly researched the call and learned the alleged shooter formerly lived at a home in the 1800 block of Maverick Trail in Las Cruces, but moved to Virginia and took his voice-over IP router with him.
Authorities in Bracey were notified of the situation and were given the caller’s phone number to follow up on the matter.
Voice-over IP routers allow you to connect landline telephones through your internet provider.
The caller reportedly plugged in his router but never notified his service provider that he had moved to Virginia, which caused his emergency phone call to be sent to MVRDA in Las Cruces.
No criminal charges will be filed against the caller. No information was immediately available on the condition of the victim.