At 9:30 p.m., a 911 call came in—no voice, just silence. Officer responded to find 8-year-old Mateo, barefoot and holding a phone. “I’m hungry,” he said. He and his little sister hadn’t eaten all day. Their mother, working late at a diner, had left no food that night. The fridge was empty. Mateo had put his sister to bed without dinner and made the brave decision to call for help.
Rather than calling backup for a welfare check, the officer called for food. Paramedic Rosa arrived with sandwiches. Mateo saved one for his sister and gently took a bite of the other—his first food in hours.