TACOMA, Wash., Feb. 8 (UPI) -- A 911 dispatcher in Washington state spent 7 minutes questioning the caseworker who called to report Josh Powell had grabbed his children, investigators say.
Sgt. Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff's Office, described the dispatcher as "bantering" with the caseworker, the Seattle Times reported. Troyer also said the caseworker was unable to give the address of Powell's rented home in Graham, Wash.
Powell, a "person of interest" in the disappearance of his wife, Susan, in Utah, and his two young sons died Sunday in an explosion and fire at the house. Powell was supposed to have only supervised visits with the boys, who were living with their maternal grandparents.
While sheriff's deputies would have arrived at the house sooner if the call had been handled more appropriately, Troyer said that would probably not have saved the boys' lives.
"Once that fire started, it was all over," he said.
