Sheriff Craig Webre reported that a suicidal woman in Scotland received assistance after a Lafourche resident saw a social media post and contacted the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office.

On the afternoon of November 8, 2019, a Lafourche Parish woman saw a post in a Facebook group about suicide awareness and prevention in which a woman in Scotland indicated she had possibly overdosed on medication and was armed with a knife. After a few minutes in which the woman had not responded to anyone on the post, the Lafourche Parish woman attempted to contact authorities in Scotland but was unable to reach them. At that point, she contacted the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office for assistance.

The woman’s profile indicated she lived in Kilmarnock, Scotland, and LPSO Communications deputies made contact with a local police department there. Within a short time, officers in Kilmarnock were able to properly identify and locate the woman. She was found to be having suicidal thoughts but was otherwise in good health. Officers said they would take the woman to receive help.

“This incident illustrates how social media has seemingly made the world a smaller place in that we were able to find a way to help a woman thousands of miles away,” said Sheriff Webre. “We thank our law enforcement partners in Scotland for their swift response in this matter, and we especially thank the local citizen who reported this to us. In all likelihood, she saved this woman’s life.”

Sheriff Webre reminds citizens to report any suspicious or criminal activity seen on social media. “The more information we have on any situation, the better we can respond to it,” said Sheriff Webre. “As our local citizen did in this incident, you should always try to determine the origin of a post and report it to the law enforcement agency in that jurisdiction. If you are unable to determine where a post originated, you can still contact your local law enforcement agency to investigate.”