Buried kids father 911, After two young children were trapped in a dirt collapse on Sunday, April 7, 2013, a North Carolina man called in a tearful mess to 911. The Associated Press reported on Monday, April 8, 2013, that the man tearfully begged police to hurry to his home and rescue his daughter and her cousin, who ended up buried 24-feet deep in a dirt pit.
31-year-old Jordan Arwood was operating a backhoe on Sunday when the pit collapsed as the children played in it. He immediately called 911.
The desperation is there in his voice on the recording released by the Lincoln County communications center on Monday. That is the same day that the poor lifeless bodies of the children were recovered from the pit.
"Please hurry ... My children are buried under tons of dirt ... They’re buried under tons of clay ... It fell on top of them,’’ he said sobbing.
When the dispatcher asked him if he could see the children, Arwood said he couldn't.
‘‘The entire wall collapsed on them. Get a crane. Get a bulldozer. Get anything you can, please,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s no way they can breathe.’’
As the dispatcher began encouraging him — and with people wailing in the background — Arwood began praying.
‘‘Lord lift this dirt up off these children ... so the children will be alive and well ... I have to get my kids. Lord, please,’’ he said.
The bodies of six-year-old Chloe Jade Arwood and her cousin, seven-year-old James Levi Caldwell, were sadly found on Monday. Things got even worse from there.
Sheriff's deputies removed firearms and a marijuana plant from Arwood's mobile home later on Monday. Arwood is a felon who is not allowed to have guns after a 2003 conviction for possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell.
The sheriff would not say what Arwood was building or if he had any professional help. Investigators are looking into the situation and possibility that Arwood was building some sort of a protective bunker. No permits had been issued by the Lincoln County Planning & Inspections Department.
31-year-old Jordan Arwood was operating a backhoe on Sunday when the pit collapsed as the children played in it. He immediately called 911.
The desperation is there in his voice on the recording released by the Lincoln County communications center on Monday. That is the same day that the poor lifeless bodies of the children were recovered from the pit.
"Please hurry ... My children are buried under tons of dirt ... They’re buried under tons of clay ... It fell on top of them,’’ he said sobbing.
When the dispatcher asked him if he could see the children, Arwood said he couldn't.
‘‘The entire wall collapsed on them. Get a crane. Get a bulldozer. Get anything you can, please,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s no way they can breathe.’’
As the dispatcher began encouraging him — and with people wailing in the background — Arwood began praying.
‘‘Lord lift this dirt up off these children ... so the children will be alive and well ... I have to get my kids. Lord, please,’’ he said.
The bodies of six-year-old Chloe Jade Arwood and her cousin, seven-year-old James Levi Caldwell, were sadly found on Monday. Things got even worse from there.
Sheriff's deputies removed firearms and a marijuana plant from Arwood's mobile home later on Monday. Arwood is a felon who is not allowed to have guns after a 2003 conviction for possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell.
The sheriff would not say what Arwood was building or if he had any professional help. Investigators are looking into the situation and possibility that Arwood was building some sort of a protective bunker. No permits had been issued by the Lincoln County Planning & Inspections Department.