When Sampson County’s 911 operators gathered for an intensive training this week, they weren’t just learning about dispatch protocols or system upgrades. They were hearing a story that carries heartbreak, hard lessons, and hope for the future of emergency response.

That story belongs to Denise Amber Lee, a 21-year-old Florida mother whose 2008 abduction and murder exposed devastating gaps in 911 communication. Her husband, Nathan Lee, has spent the 17 years since transforming his grief into a global mission to prevent similar tragedies. Through the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, he now travels the country training emergency dispatchers — the “first, first responders” — to strengthen the chain of survival through awareness, precision, and compassion.

For Cliff Brown, Sampson County’s 911 te

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