Latest local news, weather and high school sports for Tri-State area

Normally when 9-1-1 gets a phone call, the caller tells the operator where they are.

In turn, the dispatcher sends emergency personnel to where it's needed.

But occasionally 9-1-1 centers get a call from someone who doesn't know where they are.

There is technology available that can help dispatchers find you, but it's not exact.

Adams County 9-1-1 had to use that technology yesterday after a woman got lost in the woods near Lima.

When someone calls and they don't know where they are, 9-1-1 dispatchers work hard to find them. With enhanced 9-1-1, or E-9-1-1, it's a much easier process.

"It's not something that's instant. The dispatcher has to work at doing, depending on a lot of variables. It could be challenging," says Steve Rowlands.

The reason depends on the cell phone carrier. Some cell phone carriers in our area have the technology where the handset communicates with the cellular network. When a call comes in from a phone like that, 9-1-1 operators get information that gives a longitude and latitude of the handset.

"It's not exact and it depends on a lot of variables. How good the signal strenght is between the phone and the tower. It can be pretty accurate, but it could have error in there and throw it off," says Rowlands.

The other carriers have a different technology. That technology is called triangulation. It's the way the lost woman was found on Wednesday. The 9-1-1 operator can get an approximate location using at least three cell phone towers to try and find the caller. Once dispatchers had an approximate location to find the lost woman, they sent sent help.

"We dispatched a deputy to that area and the Lima Volunteer Fire Department to the area. Once they got there they could activate their sirens or honk thier horns. If she could hear that, she could walk toward that," says Rowlands.

And that's exactly what happened. About an hour and a half after the woman called 9-1-1 for help, she came out of the woods safe and sound.

Steve Rowlands emphasizes locating a cell phone is not instantaneous.

He reminds everyone, especially when they travel, to keep an eye on the highway signs and mile markers.

In the event of an accident, it helps if you can tell the 9-1-1 operator an approximate location.