Christian Co. police recognized for helping man in need

CHRISTIAN COUNTY, Ill. (WCIA) — Taylorville and Stonington Police teamed up earlier this week to help a man in need make his way home.

According to a post shared on the Taylorville Police Department’s Facebook page Thursday night, Stonington Police Officer Phil Deal was out on patrol Monday evening when he saw a man walking along Rt. 48 around 7:45 p.m. Deal learned that the man lived in Alton and had been walking since Decatur.

Deal drove him to the Taylorville Police Department, where he could use the office’s phone to find a way home. While on the way, Deal let him use his personal cell phone to call for transportation, but he was unable to reach anyone.

Deal met with Taylorville Sergeant Jeff Wood, and they worked to find a solution that would keep the man from walking along the highway in the dark with a dead phone.

They contacted Taylorville Police Chief Dwayne Wheeler, who agreed to give the man a voucher for the Economy Inn, so that he had a safe place to stay for the night. Before he left, Deal also gave the man money to buy food for the night.

Decatur is over 107 miles away from Alton. It would take approximately 33 hours to walk the distance between the two cities.

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