911 call sheds light on Charlotte County attempted murder case

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Photo via MGN

A newly released 911 call details the terrifying moments a woman faced after a 43-year-old man allegedly attempted to kill her.

Joshua Tanner, of Alva, is accused of attempting to break into the woman’s camper, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office. Tanner allegedly hooked up the camper to his truck and towed it away from the original spot, before pouring gasoline around the camper.

“He’s going to drag me down the road, you have to tell them to hurry, or he’s gonna blow it up with me in it,” the woman said during the 911 call. “He’s setting it on fire with me in it.”

“Please help me, please help me, please help me,” the woman said during the 911 call.

Previous story: Man accused of kidnapping woman, pouring gas on Charlotte County camper

The woman told deputies during the 911 call that Tanner, her on and off boyfriend, texted her earlier that day saying he was going to kill her, bury her and not think twice about doing so.

It took deputies about 20 minutes to arrive at Cook Brown Road, but they knew exactly where to find her thanks to a program called Phase Two.

Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Katie Heck says the program helps dispatchers and deputies pin-point the victims exact location by gathering information from cell phone carriers like Sprint, Verizon and AT&T.

“There’s many times that people call 911 and they’re just not able,” Heck said. “Especially in a high intensity situation to give dispatch the location they’re at.”

The program uses satellite technology to find the signal coming from the cell phone.

“The dispatcher was immediately able to see a map, so as shes talking to the caller shes also looking at a map and she can see where that call is coming from,” Heck said. “It automatically showed her that location which as you know is in a rural area.”

Tanner attempted to flee the scene once deputies arrived, but was caught by the K-9 team. He faces charges of attempted murder, kidnapping and fleeing to elude.

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