The 71-year-old man who died and whose body was pulled out of Wolf Creek on Wednesday had called 911 and tried to let police know he needed help.
“I need a rescue,” Charles Romine told a 911 dispatcher, according to the recording obtained by this news organization. “I’ve been on these rocks for, like, three hours.”
Romine called 911 at 2:13 p.m. Monday, Sept. 18.
Dayton police issued a missing endangered adult alert the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 20. Romine’s family reported he was blind and had cataracts.
“This is really embarrassing but I’d rather be humiliated than dead,” Romine said, adding he had lost his water bottle and was tired from climbing rocks for hours.
Romine said he had left the Montgomery County Job Center earlier in the day. He had gotten off the bus to get cigarettes before going home for lunch, but lost his bag, cigarettes and keys.
“I don’t want to be looking embarrassed, that’s the main thing,” Romine said in an almost 8-minute call. “But I don’t want to lose my life, either.”
An entry on the Montgomery County dispatch log at 2:46 p.m. states crews could not locate Romine and attempted to call him back twice without answer. The incident was closed at 2:46 p.m.
At about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Romine’s body was found in Wolf Creek in the area of West Riverview Avenue and Philadelphia Drive — more than three miles from the area he told the dispatcher.
The dispatcher told Romine, “I will have an officer out there as soon as I can,” to which he responded, “Thank you, ma’am.”
When the dispatcher said, “You’re welcome,” Romine answered, “Alright, bye bye.”
