BY MICHAEL BOSTIAN
SALISBURY POST

MISENHEIMER — A woman talking to a friend in Chapel Hill became a crimestopper in her own right Friday morning.

Lynn Stepp, director of catering services at Pfeiffer University, was in her office talking on the telephone to a Chapel Hill friend when she heard several screams as two armed robbers entered her friend’s home.

Elizabeth Frey, the Chapel Hill resident, told police there that she heard a knock on her door between 9 and 10 a.m. and when she answered it, the two men forced their way in, said Jane Cousins, spokesperson for the Chapel Hill Police Department.

Frey had put the phone down to answer the door, and the connection remained open through most of the incident.

There were two men in the home with Frey when the incident happened. Over the next few minutes, both the victims and the suspects were slightly injured, Cousins said.

When Stepp heard the screaming and fighting, she left her phone dangling and ran to find Tracey Wyrick, chief of campus police. Wyrick immediately called Stanly County’s 911 dispatcher who transferred the information to the Chapel Hill Police Department.

“A lot of people would not think to leave that line open and contact campus police,”Wyrick said.

Not hanging up made the difference.

While officers were being dispatched to the home, Wyrick was listening on the telephone.

“I could hear it was a home invasion and … things were not going well on the other end of the line,”Wyrick said. Once the suspects realized the phone line was still active, one of the men picked it up, screamed something into Wyrick’s ear and slammed it down, Wyrick said. That’s when police say the men fled the home.

They made off with money and jewelry but were captured just a few minutes later and only a couple miles from the home. One of the suspects was bleeding from the fight.

David Wayne Rhew, Jr., 3017 W. Lyon Station Road in Creedmore, and Dan Durwood Giles II, 2712 Coley Rd., Durham, each face three counts of kidnapping, one count of robbery with a deadly weapon, and one count of injury to personal property.

The suspect with the injuries was treated at UNC Hospital and released to authorities.

“It’s just really ironic how things worked out,”Wyrick said. “You can only imagine what would have happened if she hadn’t been on the phone when that happened.”

Contact Michael Bostian at 704-797-4280 or mbostian@salisburypost.com .