The buried kids father’s 911 call has now emerged, revealing the panic and stress in Jordan Arwood’s voice as he called for help after two cousins, a 6-year-old girl and a 7-year-old boy, somehow got into a huge 24-foot-deep pit that he was digging on a construction site near his backyard in rural Lincoln County, some 20 miles from Charlotte, North Carolina.
A dirt wall collapsed, suffocating the children despite a painstaking rescue effort that took as many as 75 workers including a structural engineer. Both Arwood’s daughter, Chloe Jade Arwood , and her cousin, James Levi Caldwell, were recovered dead hours later.
The details were sketchy during the recovery, with neighbors telling news media that Arwood was digging a basement. One story was that the children were playing at being his helpers and that they’d gone into the pit to retrieve a child’s pickaxe when they were killed.
In any case, the accident occurred while 31-year-old Arwood was operating his backhoe.
The Lincoln County communications center has now released the 911 call made by the panicked father of buried kid Chloe Jade: “The entire wall collapsed on them. Get a crane. Get a bulldozer. Get anything you can, please. There’s no way they can breathe.”
He was crying and calling on the Lord to raise up the dirt and save the children, a prayer that was ultimately futile. You can hear a portion of the 911 call posted by Charlotte news station WCCB Charlotte .
You can get a look at the pit and the rescue effort here:
Now, the Lincoln County sheriff’s office is tasked with investigating what actually caused the accident — and why Jordan Arwood was digging out that pit.
According to new details that have emerged from the investigation, Arwood has a 2003 conviction for “possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell,” according to a North Carolina news station.
As a convicted felon, he isn’t allowed to have firearms. However, the sheriff’s officers have now reportedly removed a marijuana plant and multiple undescribed firearms from the home.
What’s more, although the construction site had allegedly been underway for around three months, Lincoln County can’t find any record of a construction permit. Yet, no one had acted to stop the digging until the tragedy struck.
And the reasons given for the digging keep changing. Was it a basement? A new family home? Or, as a new rumor has suggested, was it some sort of underground bunker?
Jordan Arwood made a 911 call to save the buried kids that no father ever wants to have to make. And his troubles won’t be over soon.
[dig photo by Robert J. Beyers II via Shutterstock ]
