LAS VEGAS -- A couple of workers at a valley call center turned into unlikely heroes Wednesday night. A call to sell a product turned into a call that saved an Oregon woman's life.
Tina Garcia of Americare Health and Nutrition in Las Vegas exclusively told 8 News NOW it all started out as a routine call for one of her telemarketers, but what was heard on the other end of the phone was far from normal.
The worker called Garcia over to the phone.
“She said, 'Tina, you need to hear this. I don't think this is a joke. Something's happening. I think this lady is getting hit,'” Garcia said. “The young lady on the other end of the phone never said hello. There was just a horrible whimper.”
Garcia's boss Mario Gonzalez also stepped in to help.
“It just got progressively worse,” he said.
“We were not going to hang up the phone. As far as I was concerned, and as far as the people in that room were concerned, we were the only lifeline she had,” said Garcia.
The group called the Linn County Sheriff's Office which went to check things out. The sheriff's office said when they got to the scene, they heard a woman calling for help. They said they also heard a man telling the woman to be quiet.
Deputies entered the home and saw 33-year-old Walter Ruck holding the woman from behind. However, when Ruck saw the deputies, he let her go.
Deputies said she was crying and gasping for air as she ran past them and out the door. After further investigation, deputies learned the woman was held down, physically assaulted and smothered with blankets and pillows during the attack.
Investigators said the woman told them Ruck also picked up a rifle and positioned the barrel near his face before shoving the stock of the gun into her chest, telling her to “pull the trigger.” The victim stated she was in fear for her life and was convinced Ruck wanted to kill himself or kill her and then himself, according to deputies.
Investigators said the woman's phone was in her back pocket during the attack. She said she had no idea someone called the police. Deputies credited the workers at Americare Health and Nutrition for intervening and possibly saving the woman's life.
Ruck was booked into the Linn County Jail on charges of Fourth Degree Assault, Menacing and Strangulation.
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