Quietly, quickly, she made herself invisible.
Unnoticed, or at least unremarked upon, she fairly glided, anonymously, through the byways of the majestic Four Points Sheraton Hotel on Green Valley Circle, near Sepulveda Boulevard.
Outward Signs Missing
Distraught as she was on what was to be her Closing Day on earth, her destructive distress did not show sufficiently to alert anyone who may have captured even a glance at her.
Her next public appearance was a grabber.
Undetected, she made her way through a portal and within sight of her final destination.
The rectangular white frame and see-through veranda that marks the front of the tall Fox Hills hotel.
In a Way, Her Plan Was Safe
So far, her plan was as safe as if it had been stored in a vault on the moon.
Next actually, the first anyone knew, she had sat down on the west side of the veranda, perilously close to the edge, both legs dangling far above the paved driveway that greets visitors.
Why Officers Showed up
One reason she came so close to achieving her announced goal was her tightly locked, mum attitude.
An adult in that situation would have logically reasoned that remaining silent would have improved her chances of meeting both her objective and her maker on the same afternoon.
At that precise hour, Officer Aubrey Kellum and Officer Heidi Hattrup of the Culver City Police Dept., were on patrol through southern neighborhoods of the community.
As fate would dictate, they were en route to the Four Points Sheraton for a very informal reason. He wanted to show her the scene of a bus crash earlier in the day.
Officer Kellum will narrate what followed:
We happened to drive into the parking lot because there was no place to park. Driving in, we noticed two people coming from the back of the hotel to the front.
One lady looked at us, and then she looked over at the veranda. When we looked over, we saw a child on the veranda.
The first thing that came into both of our minds was, What is she doing up there?
In a second, we both realized she was going to jump.
The hardest part of this was that the girl was emotionless.
(At this point, Officer Kellum had to recollect himself before continuing.)
The part of this whole incident that is etched in my memory more than any other was the lack of emotion. When we pulled up and stopped the car, we said, What are you doing up there?
In that very second, the girl was looking right at us. I am thinking she is looking me dead in the eye.
When we first saw her, she was just getting to the edge. She was sitting with the back of her knees against the veranda. Her hands were braced on both sides.
Everybody there there werent that many people knew what she was trying to do. She scooted forward and put her buttocks on the edge.
There was radio traffic. We were trying to get some assistance over there. All this time, she is not saying a word. Shes not crying. Shes not angry.
When I say emotionless, she was truly emotionless. She is not scared.
More people came along. Some were standing under her, encouraging her to relax and sit back.
I was pretty sure she was going to jump.
I went back to the police car to move it closer. Just as I went to the car, she turned around, stood up and turned her back to me.
She started to drop over the side. Now her whole body was dangling (vertically), and she was just clinging on with her hands.
I finally got the car under her. Both Heidi and I jumped on the car and climbed up on top of the car.
We couldnt reach her, though.
At that point, right as I got under her, she was dangling. Hanging on.
Still not saying a word.
Then she started swinging, like she was on monkey bars. She just swung. She was throwing herself back and forth.
I kept saying, Shes going to let
She didnt want us to grab her,. I couldnt reach her even from on top of the car. There was still probably 2 or 3 feet.
I told her, Hey, will you stop swinging. Fortunately, she stopped. I have no idea why. No idea.
But I remember saying, I was thankful she stopped swinging. Because, if she kept swinging, she would have launched herself backward or pitched herself forward.
She was about 3 feet above. But even if I could have, the only thing I could have done was to pull her down. I realized, she cant hang there forever. I dont think she has enough strength to crawl back up.
I just said, Shes going to fall. Shes going to fall. So I stood there and waited.
[What was Officer Hattrup doing all of this while? I have to say, said Officer Kellum, Heidi is just as much a part of this as I am. I know she wont tell me this, but I think she is a big part of me getting the (commendation from the city). As he resumed his narration, Officer Kellum said only a minute or two had passed.]
Heidi and I were thinking about moving the car. But I said, Dont move it. Shes going to fall, and I am going to catch her.
The girl still is not scared. She didnt say a word. Nothing. The thing I most remember seeing that day, and whats most memorable, I watched her fingers pop off the side, one by one.
I watched both pinkies (lose their grip) first. Then the ring finger came off.
After the ring finger, within a second or two, she was falling. Straight down. I was standing on the car, between the windshield and the roof.
I just braced myself, positioned myself and caught her, said the 5-foot-11, 190-pound officer. Its not something I thought about. I said Hey, this is a good place to stand.
She fell, and I caught her.
I still keep looking up.
Some words followed as the two came together. But he doesnt remember, and undoubtedly she does not.
I just held onto her and walked her off the car.
I dont remember exactly how the crowd reacted. But I think it was nothing. About 20 people. There was nothing. I dont remember anything.
The girls guardian came up, and all she kept saying was, Thank you very much. Goodbye. I just have to give her her meds, and she will be fine.
I said, No. She is not for you to have right now. There was a little banter, resistance, back and forth, and the guardian said, Just give her to me. I said, No. You will have to wait. We have to work this whole thing out first.
I think the guardians thinking was, Ill put in the car, give her some medicine, and shell be fine.
I asked the girl, What were you doing up there? She said, I want to kill myself. I said Why? Cause lifes not worth living, she said.
How do you respond to a 10-year-old who wants to kill herself? I remember saying I had to move on. I had no response for her. That is a hard enough question to answer for an adult. But how do you answer it for a 10-year-old?
[Officer Kellum once again was overcome, forced to interrupt his narration.]
As I had officers take the guardian away, I moved away with the child. This was just seconds after I caught her.
She went through so many little changes. I cant tell you what she wanted to do, but she did not want to go away with the firefighters, which is pretty unusual. Police, I understand. But firefighters. Nobody is. But she just went through so many changes.
She wanted to run away. She did. I actually had to grab her a couple of times. I told her, You are not going to run. There is nowhere you can go. You are going to have to just talk to me about this. She kept trying to get away.
Maybe she was emotionally confused. Overwhelmed by all the activity. She saw nothing good was going to come from trying to get away.
Its hard to analyze the thought of a 10-year-old for something a 10-year-old should not know about.
The girl was hospitalized for psychiatric observation.
Next: Officer Aubrey Kellum, from the inside out.
