Hot on Facebook

Guy Buys $123 Safe on eBay, Finds $26,000 Inside Seller tries to get half the cash back, fails »

US Teen Saves UK Facebook Pal From Suicide

Maryland girl's call goes to cops, White House, Scotland Yard

By Wesley Oliver, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 5, 2009 3:09 PM CDT

(Newser) – An American girl saved a British teen who sent her a Facebook message threatening to kill himself with a drug overdose, BBC says. The girl told her mother, who alerted local police, setting off a chain response from the White House to the British Embassy in Washington and finally to Scotland Yard. British police found the 16-year-old, who’s since fully recovered.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

A British teenager who took a drugs overdose has been saved after the American girl he was chatting to online raised the alarm. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, file)

A British teenager who took a drugs overdose has been saved after the American girl he was chatting to online raised the alarm. (Shutter Stock)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

It took up time and effort, but it was time and effort absolutely well spent. - British police official

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

UK Aims to Mine Facebook in Fight on Crime, Terror

Criminals use chat features on social, game sites to hide conversations: authorities

(NEWSER) - With social-networking, gaming, and video sites offering stealth chatting that criminals and terrorists exploit, the British government is moving to require such websites to collect and provide user data to authorities. Accessing chat contents would still require a specific warrant, but demographic information could help find pedophiles, kidnappers, drug traffickers, and terrorists, the Guardian reports. More»

British Cop Chases Suspect: Himself

Security camera confusion leads to hilarious pursuit

(NEWSER) - For 20 minutes, an undercover British police officer intrepidly tracked a suspicious person in an area recently hit with a spate of burglaries. Unfortunately, the officer was chasing himself. How? An operator watching the street via security camera alerted the plain-clothes officer of a suspicious person in the area—not realizing it was, in fact, the cop, explains the Telegraph . The camera operator began relaying the whereabouts of the "suspect" so the officer could nab him. More»

Police Test Laser to 'Blind Rioters'

British police try new technology after summer riots

(NEWSER) - In the wake of this year's rioting , British police are testing a laser that would temporarily blind looters with a wall of light, the Telegraph reports. The $40,000 laser can reportedly reach people up to 500 yards away and spot them in poor visibility with an infrared scope. "If police spot someone trying to do something untoward, painting them with this would certainly make them think twice about it," says Paul Kerr, the head of the firm developing the device. More»

2 Brits Get 4 Years for Pushing Riots on Facebook

... Even though their pages didn't lead to specific riots

(NEWSER) - As sentencing continues in last week’s riots across Britain, some observers fear the punishments far outweigh the crimes. Two young British men who used Facebook to call for local rioting have each received four-year jail sentences—though the riots they suggested never took place. In one case, a 20-year-old man set up a Facebook event labeled “Smash Down in Northwich,” but only police showed up at the appointed time, the Guardian reports. More»

Cops Screen Recruits' Texts, Facebook Posts

Racy pics, suicide threats get would-be cops dumped

(NEWSER) - Law enforcement agencies are probing potential recruits’ digital lives for information that might make them unfit for the job, USA Today reports. More than a third of police agencies look into applicants’ social media presence, says a new report conducted for police executives. Reviewing postings to sites like Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, some agencies require applicants’ online passwords, or want to see their text-messaging and email records. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

US Teen Saves UK Facebook Pal From Suicide