Southend PCs save the life of suicidal teenager

TWO Essex Police officers have been thanked for saving the life of a suicidal teenager.

PC Daryl Jones and PC Mark Bullock were on patrol on their Southend beat on 14 November when they were sent to search for a girl, who had said she wanted to end her life.

They carried out a search of the area and found her four miles from her home alone after sneaking out in the middle of the night.

They approached her carefully but when she saw the officers she broke down and became upset.

Daryl and Mark reassured her that they were there to help her and they managed to convince her to get into the police car and shelter from the cold.

She spoke openly with Daryl and Mark about the difficulties she had been experiencing and thanked the officers for finding her so quickly. The pair reassured her that they would get her the further help she needed.

Daryl waited with her while Mark made a difficult call to her parents to inform them of the situation and that their daughter had not come to any harm. Her dad thanked the officers for finding his daughter so quickly and ensuring her safety.

The girl was taken to a mental health suite for assessment and her parents thanked the officers again for finding their daughter so quickly and getting her the help she needed.

Daryl said: “I’ve never seen more of a genuine reaction for help from someone than when the young girl broke down when she saw myself and Mark and knew we were there to help her.”

Mark said: “We were just fortunate that we were in the right place at the right time and were able to locate her and help her, I have no doubt if we hadn’t found her it would have been a different outcome.”