ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County sheriff’s deputies did not begin investigating the disappearance of 13-year-old Madeline Soto until nearly three hours after the agency received a 911 call reporting the missing child, dispatch records obtained by News 6 reveal.
Acquaintances of Soto’s mother Jennifer called 911 three separate times trying to summon a deputy to help them look for the teen after she failed to show up at Hunter’s Creek Middle School on Feb. 26, according to recordings of the calls.
The 911 calls have been combined and can be listened to in the audio player below:
“So how long do we need to wait? This is an emergency,” one of the callers asked dispatchers after more than two-and-a-half hours had elapsed since Soto was first reported missing.
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According to an Orange County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, details about Soto’s disappearance that were shared with 911 dispatchers did not necessitate a higher priority response.
“Based off of the information we had at the time, we have no indication that this call was not properly prioritized,” an unidentified Orange County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson wrote in an email to News 6.
“(This) call was classified as ‘Priority 2′. A ‘Priority 3′ is activated when a missing child is 10 years old or younger or if they have known medical conditions that would classify them as ‘missing endangered.’”
A high volume of other emergency calls that were received around the same time as Soto was reported missing also contributed to the response time, the sheriff spokesperson indicated.
Stephan Sterns, who was dating Soto’s mother, is charged with sexually molesting and murdering the teen. He has pleaded not guilty.
Authorities believe Sterns killed Soto more than nine hours before anyone called 911 to report her disappearance, so it likely would have made little difference if deputies had responded to the call any sooner.
But agency dispatch records obtained by News 6 raise questions about how law enforcement initially handled the missing child report.
Orange County 911 dispatchers received the first call about Soto’s disappearance at 4:43 p.m., records show.
The caller, whose name was redacted from the audio recording as required by Florida public record laws, said she was calling on behalf of Soto’s mother.
“I’m reporting a missing child,” the caller stated.
After providing Soto’s age and clothing description, the caller indicated that Soto was last seen early that day.
“She was dropped off at school this morning and apparently never showed up,” the caller said. “We called everyone we knew. No one has seen her.”
Soto’s mother previously said she first learned about her daughter’s absence when Hunter’s Creek Middle School sent an automatic attendance notification at the end of the day, according to investigators.
Orange County Public Schools has since changed its procedure to give parents earlier notification of a student’s absence.
“We’ll be out there as quickly as we can,” the 911 dispatcher told the caller. “Bye-bye, m’am.”
About a half hour later, at 5:16 p.m., records show the same caller contacted 911 dispatchers again.
“I called not that long ago, reporting a missing child,” the caller stated. “I just want to see how long the cops are going to take to get here.”
“The call is still currently pending to have the deputies respond out there,” the dispatcher replied. “We don’t have any available deputies.”
“So no one is on their way yet?” the caller asked.
“Not yet,” the dispatcher replied.
The dispatcher indicated that calls are put on hold if there is a big emergency in the area and no deputies are available.
“She’s been missing since 8 a.m., so we want to get everything done as soon as possible to try to find her,” the caller stated.
“I understand,” the dispatcher responded.
More than two hours later, at 7:21 p.m., a different acquaintance of Soto’s mother called 911.
“We have a missing child since this morning,” the caller said. “We already called three times. And the police didn’t show up yet.”
“I’m aware, ma’am. I see it. Waiting for a deputy to respond,” the dispatcher said.
“How long must we need to wait?” the caller asked. “It’s a child missing.”
“I understand that, ma’am. But I’m just not able to give out ETA,” said the dispatcher. “I don’t know when they’ll be there.”
“So this is not important for you guys? Really?” the caller asked.
“Ma’am, we are very busy in the area,” the dispatcher said. “They will be there soon as they can, OK?”
At 7:37 p.m., nearly three hours after the first 911 call was received, an Orange County sheriff’s deputy arrived at an office near Soto’s middle school where Soto’s mother, Sterns, and other acquaintances were gathered.
“My daughter was dropped off close to school this morning but never made it,” Jennifer Soto told the deputy as the missing child investigation officially got underway.
An Orange County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said the agency received a high volume of other emergency calls around the same time Soto’s disappearance was reported.
“It’s important to note that on February 26, 2024, during the hours when those calls came in (4 to 8 p.m.), the Orange County Sheriff’s Office Communications Center received 750 incoming calls,” the spokesperson told News 6. “Of those, 489 were 911 emergency calls.”
According to the agency, several factors determine the priority level assigned to a call, such as age and known medical conditions.
“Of course, call volume and priority are not the only factors that contribute to deputy response times,” the sheriff’s office spokesperson said. “When deputies are tied up on high priority calls, that is another reason why other calls have to hold until a deputy is able to respond.”
Investigators believe Sterns murdered Soto at the Kissimmee apartment she shared with her mother on the morning of Feb. 26, more than nine hours before someone called 911 to report her disappearance.
At 7:35 a.m., surveillance cameras at the apartment complex captured video of a female believed to be Soto in the front passenger seat of Sterns’ car “completely slumped over with her mouth ajar,” court records show.
Soto’s body was found four days later in a wooded area near St. Cloud. The cause of death has not yet been disclosed in court records.
Sterns faces the death penalty if convicted of murdering Soto.
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