I could tell that this one was going to be difficult the moment I picked it up and heard the loud static, fading in and out, and a distant voice saying something that I couldn't understand at all. The signal was still there, though, so I kept trying, saying "Hello? HELLO? HELLO???!" Then the signal started mixing with another cellular phone and I heard someone carrying on a lively conversation in Spanish. I was sure I had lost the caller and was about to give up when suddenly the original far away voice came back loud enough for me to understand. A male was saying "...just let me turn the page, here..."
I asked if he could hear me and he said yes, so I asked him to tell me quickly where he was and what he was reporting before I lost the signal again. He replied "Let me turn the page." I asked him again "WHAT ARE YOU REPORTING?" And he said "Oh, I am not really....static...turn the page... *more spanish conversation*... I can... HELLO???" I kept trying to get him to get to the point, and for 5 minutes I asked him "WHAT ARE YOU REPORTING?"
FINALLY, he managed to say "I am reporting animals on my roof." I asked him where he was and he went back to telling me he was turning the page, so I asked him what kind of animals were on his roof. He said "You know, the local animals!" I asked him if he could describe the animals, to which he replied "Um, the fuzzy kind." So we went on, playing 20 questions... "Is it a squirrel?" No, it is bigger than that. "Is it a bear?" No, it is smaller than a bear. "How about a dog?" No, of course it isn't a dog! "Could it be a skunk?" Well, yes, it just might be a skunk, he said. After several tries, the caller finally remembered his address and phone number, and I was able to pass the information on to the correct agency for his area.
I never did hear the end of that one, but I imagine it was interesting for the officer responding!