PALM BAY, Fla.,None — A drunken and high mother called 911 accidentally, and Palm Bay police said they never would have known her children were at risk until they went to the home to check up on the call. It turns out it was 28-year-old Rebecca Dove's misdial that landed her in the Brevard County jail on child neglect charges.
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Dove's neighbors said she is a single mom so her 10-year-old daughter and infant son are now with relatives.
"Hello 911," an operator said.
"I'm sorry, I dialed the wrong number. I thought I hit the star in front of it," Dove replied.
It wasn't just one misdialed phone call that got Dove in trouble.
"911. Do you need police fire or paramedic?" the operator asked.
"Um… sorry, wrong number again. I'm sorry," she said. "I keep trying to call my Verizon phone and it's star 61…. something and it always ends up calling 911."
After the second phone call, Palm Bay police went to check on her.
Police said Dove came to the door intoxicated and admitted she had taken OxyContin, Xanax and other medications. Police said the problem was she was the only one taking care of her two children. They said drugs and paraphernalia were within their reach.
Neighbors told WFTV they never knew there was a problem.
"Every day she's out here with her kids, she walks them to school and she doesn't seem that type of person," said neighbor Marilyn Parker.
The home looks well kept from the outside, but police said the home was filthy when they went inside.
"There was rotting food inside the house, rotting spoiled diapers inside the house," said Sgt. Chris Imelt of the Palm Bay Police Department.
DCF has investigated Dove before, but the police might have never shown up if Dove didn't call them herself.
"Yea, everything's perfectly fine. I just got a new cell phone," she told dispatchers.
Dove is being held at the county jail on child neglect charges and could also face drug charges. She will face a judge on criminal charges on Friday.
WFTV
