Alameda County dispatchers stop Facebook Live suicide in New York

Alameda County dispatchers helped save a woman’s life Wednesday in New York after she began broadcasting her suicide attempt on Facebook Live, officials said.

A crisis center in Idaho — where the woman used to live — talked to her early in the morning and were led to believe she was in Alameda County. They called the East Bay dispatch center about 6:30 a.m., said Sgt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office.

It turned out the woman was not in California or Idaho, but actually New York.

“The ball was in our court and we had to figure out what to do,” Kelly said. “There’s not really a game plan in terms of how to do this, but there are certain mechanisms in place, certain technology we can use.”

The quick-thinking Alameda County dispatchers obtained series of phone “pings” through a request from telephone companies to triangulate the woman’s position. The pings placed her in Rockville Centre, on New York’s Long Island. The dispatchers notified police there about the incident, Kelly said.

As they monitored her Facebook, the East Bay dispatchers suddenly saw the woman go “live” as she cut herself in a car and talked about wanting to take her life.

“Where once people left suicide notes or messages, law enforcement is now seeing people actually recording their deaths,” Kelly said. “Obviously that’s disturbing, but in a certain way it can be good because it’s an immediate notification to friends and family that something bad is going on. In this case, we were able to save someone’s life. Maybe it’s a double-edged thing.”

Using another “ping,” and matching the woman’s surroundings on the Facebook Live video to those of Google Maps street views, dispatchers were able to give Rockville Centre police officers the exact street where the woman was located.

Five Alameda County Sheriff’s Office dispatchers helped prevent a woman in New York from killing herself on Facebook Live early Wednesday. Five Alameda County Sheriff’s Office dispatchers helped prevent a woman in New York from killing herself on Facebook Live early Wednesday. Photo: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Photo: Alameda County Sheriff’s Office Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Alameda County dispatchers stop Facebook Live suicide in New York 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

When they got to her car, she was unconscious, but the officers were able to get her medical help and to a hospital. The woman is now stable and getting psychological treatment, Kelly said.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov