I Missed 23 Calls from My Teen Son, Minutes Later Got a Call from Police — My Story

Estelle knew she wasn’t a great mother, but she was trying. Things had been tough for her after her husband died, leaving her to care for their son alone. One day, she ended up missing 23 calls from her son. Her heart sank when she got a call from a cop minutes after she couldn’t reach him.

It’s always painful for me to think about. It’s not like I did anything on purpose. But it’s true that I wasn’t there for my son whenever he needed me.

Hello, my name is Estelle, and I’m a police officer, a widow, and the mother of a 14-year-old boy. You can call me the world’s worst mother and despise me for what I did. But please refrain from doing so until you’ve heard my side of the story.

I wasn’t entirely to blame for what happened that fateful day. After my husband died, things got tough. He was a cop, too, and our family’s breadwinner. I had never worked before, and transitioning to a working woman’s life while grieving my husband’s death was hard for me.

In fact, I wasn’t even over his loss when I threw myself into work to support our son, Clayton. I would never hurt him intentionally, and I would never ever dismiss him. But it’s true that I deliberately ignored him that day…

“This is Officer Suarez, reporting an accident in the downtown area. Officer Bruns, my partner, is with me. Please send backup…”

I was heading to a crime scene with my partner. It was a serious case, and we didn’t have time to lose. A child was in danger, and we had to be quick to save her life.

I heard my phone vibrating as we reached the location, and I checked it. “Clayton,” read the caller ID. I put my phone aside and rushed to another child in need.

“Busy. I’ll call you later!” I had typed before getting out of the car. But unfortunately, the message wasn’t sent. I hadn’t pressed the send button, apparently.

When Officer Bruns and I returned to our car, we rushed back to the station. The operation was successful, and I managed to save the little girl in danger. Not even once did it cross my mind that I should check my phone.

When I finally did, I was shocked. There were 23 missed calls from Clayton. My heart shuddered, and I called him back. He didn’t answer, so I called him again. And again, and again.

Where’s this boy? Why isn’t he picking up?

Suddenly, his phone was off.

I panicked. I didn’t know what to do. It was the first time I painfully regretted not being there for Clayton.

I asked one of my fellow officers to track his cell phone location. I was very worried about him. But before we could figure out where his phone was last active, an unknown number flashed across my phone screen.