A 911 dispatcher for Johnston County, North Carolina, recently helped save a woman who was locked in the trunk of a moving car, according to officials. 
 
 The 29-year-old woman called 911 around 4 a.m. on Jan. 14, 2017, saying she had a disagreement with her boyfriend, who forced her into a trunk, Jason Barbour, director of the Johnston County Emergency 911 Communications Center, said. 
 
 Barbour told ABC News today that the shift supervisor at the time, Tim Medlin, responded to the call. 
 
 "She was crying and very upset, so it was hard to understand her at first, but [Medlin] finally heard her say she was locked in a trunk of a car," Barbour explained. "The call then dropped, and his multiple attempts to call her back were unsuccessful." 
 
 Medlin "refused to give up" and used the office's emergency cellphone in an attempt to reach the woman, according to Barbour. 
 
 "It was this flip phone, and [Medlin] texted the woman on that phone since he couldn't reach her by calling," Barbour said. "Fortunately, she started texting back and told us that she needed help and that she believed she was in a red Mustang headed towards Fayetteville." 
 
 Medlin was then able to get the woman's location with the help of a cellphone provider. Police responded and stopped the car in the city of Fayetteville, Barbour said. 
 
 "And lo and behold, the woman was in the trunk of the car," Barbour said. He added that if it wasn't for Medlin's quick thinking, the woman may not have been found on time. 
 
 "He really stood by our motto, 'Failure is not an option,'" Barbour said. 
 
 Lt. Todd Joyce, a public information officer for the Fayetteville Police Department, told ABC News today that the woman in the trunk was found unharmed. He added that her boyfriend, 32-year-old Nicholas Mattevi, was arrested around 5 a.m. and charged with false imprisonment, a misdemeanor. 
 
 Fayetteville Police Department 
 
 Mattevi has since been released from jail, according to Joyce. He said it was not immediately clear if Mattevi had obtained a lawyer or entered a plea. 
 
 ABC News could not reach Mattevi for comment. 
 
 The Cumberland County District Court did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for information. ||||| You must enter the characters with black color that stand out from the other characters 
 
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 — A quick-thinking Johnston County emergency dispatcher is credited with saving the day after he helped police locate a woman who was trapped inside the trunk of a car. 
 
 On Jan. 14, 911 supervisor Tim Medlin received a call from a woman who said she was locked in the trunk of a moving car by her jealous boyfriend. Medlin said it was hard to understand her. 
 
 "The only thing we knew is it was a female that was very upset, and that she was in the trunk of the car," he said. 
 
 The call got disconnected. He called back but could not reach the woman. 
 
 Medlin then had the idea to text her from a cell phone. She responded. 
 
 "Texting, it was the only way I knew we would probably not get her in trouble," Medlin said. "When I sent a simple text, 'Can you text?' She responded, 'Yes.' The immediate response after that was, 'Help me.'" 
 
 The woman was able to provide Medlin with the make and color of the vehicle and told him she believed she was headed to Fayetteville. 
 
 Medlin called the Cumberland County Sheriff's office, who then contacted Verizon Wireless, and was able to locate the phone. 
 
 The woman also gave authorities the name of her boyfriend - Nicholas Mattevi. 
 
 Once they had a location, Fayetteville police spotted the car, rescued the woman and arrested Mattevi. 
 
 "They located her. It was a good feeling to know she was located," Medlin said. 
 
 Jason Barbour, Johnston County's 911 director, said all 911 centers can receive text messages, but cannot initiate them, something he says needs to change. 
 
 "This is a prime example of technology being used to the fullest at someone's greatest time of need," Barbour said. "We can only receive texts and then text back one another. We can't start the conversation. So that was the problem." 
 
 Barbour said he is glad Medlin had a cell phone nearby to text the woman, but believes all 911 centers should be able to be updated so that they can initiate texts from their systems. 
 
 Mattevi was charged with false imprisonment. He was released on a $10,000 bond. ||||| A 911 dispatcher's quick thinking may have saved a life or prevented a more serious crime. It happened in Johnston County as a woman was locked in the trunk of car going down the interstate.Around 4 a.m. Saturday, January 14, Johnston County 911 Shift Supervisor Tim Medlin got a 911 cell phone call from a woman who said she'd been kidnapped from Raleigh and put in the trunk of a car which was traveling down the highway.At that point, the car was headed east on I-40 nearing the I-95 interchange. Dispatchers had that information from a cell phone tracking device. But, the caller wasn't able to tell dispatchers anything else valuable before the call was lost.She didn't answer when they called back. That's when Medlin had an idea. Dispatchers had a cell phone to notify supervisors if the land lines went out. He decided to use it to text the woman who called.She responded, told them she knew the man driving, and were likely headed to Fayetteville. Dispatchers sent Fayetteville police to the address. They arrested Nicholas Mattevi and charged him with false imprisonment.There was huge sigh of relief in the Johnston County 911 center."Okay, they're out with her. They've got them. They've confirmed that they've got them. We're like, 'Okay, this is over with. It's done. I can go home. I can go to bed. We've done our job,'" Medlin recalled.The phone that Medlin used is an old flip phone. His boss told ABC11 Monday he's going to buy a smart phone for the team so if it ever happens again they'll have a keyboard.
– A North Carolina woman allegedly locked in the trunk of a moving car by her boyfriend was saved by a quick-thinking 911 dispatcher and a lowly flip phone, ABC News reports. The 29-year-old woman called 911 around 4am Jan. 14. The woman had gotten in a fight with her boyfriend, who was "jealous," according to WRAL. Before dispatcher Tim Medlin could get much information from the woman, the call was dropped. He was unable to get her to answer when he called back. Then Medlin remembered a flip phone the 911 communications center keeps around in case the phone lines go down, WTVD reports. He says texting was the only way he could think to contact her without getting "her in trouble." The woman texted Medlin back, letting the dispatcher know she was in a red Mustang headed toward Fayetteville. Verizon provided the location of the woman's phone, and police stopped her and her boyfriend, Nicholas Mattevi, in Fayetteville. Mattevi, 32, was arrested and charged with false imprisonment. "I can go to bed," Medlin recalls feeling upon hearing of the arrest. "We've done our job." He says he's planning to buy a smartphone for the office to replace the old flip phone and make it easier to text if there's a next time. Medlin's boss tells ABC the dispatcher "really stood by our motto: Failure is not an option." (This 911 dispatcher was accused of hanging up on callers.)