‘Elf On The Shelf’ Mishap Causes 7-Year-Old To Call 911

The Elf on the Shelf is a holiday tradition in many homes. The sneaky elf sits on the shelf and monitors children for bad behavior every holiday season, and in many households, the little ones are certain he’s got Santa’s ear. According to the holiday story book, The Elf on the Shelf, Santa Clause sends out scout elves to report back to the North Pole about the naughty or niceness of kids in their homes, returning to the North Pole every night and the children’s home before they wake up in the morning. If the elf is touched, however, it may lose is magic and not be able to report to Santa. This week, Isabella LaPeruta, a 7-year-old girl from New Jersey, accidentally touched her family’s shelf elf, which caused her some holiday panic.

KREM via USA Today reports that the 7-year old accidentally knocked the family’s Elf on the Shelf from it’s vantage point. Knowing the story of The Elf on the Shelf well, she wondered if her accident might rub Santa Clause the wrong way or even jeopardize her upcoming Christmas visit from the jolly old elf. She decided to turn to the professionals for help with the elf, and ended up calling 911 for assistance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VZauB0llAY

Almost immediately after being connected to a dispatcher, Isabella seems to realize that she’s overreacted and perhaps made a bit of a mistake in calling the authorities to help her with her downed Elf on the Shelf. She began to tell the operator that she’d mistakenly called the emergency number when trying to call her dad to tell him about the accident. She also told the authorities not to come check the scene out.

“Don’t come to my house.”

Unfortunately for little Isabella, the police not coming wasn’t an option. Police are legally required to follow-up on/investigate calls to 911, even when they involve The Elf on the Shelf. Despite her best efforts to keep them away, Police Lt. Joseph Mandola reported that a police officer did go to her house to check out the Elf on the Shelf emergency. An officer who, reportedly, wasn’t met with a very warm welcome. When he got to the door, he was greeted by an agitated Isabella, who tried to send him on his way, shooing him back to the police station with a “you can go now.”

Her mother, who had been napping during the 911 call and subsequent arrival of a concerned police officer, awoke to find her daughter desperately trying to get the police officer away from the home.

“She was hysterical crying; she was panicking.”

NBC New York reports that the 7-year-old didn’t want the police officer to come inside because she was afraid she was going to get in trouble for either the Elf on the Shelf mishap, the call to 911, or maybe both.

The responding officer stuck around at the scene of the Elf on the Shelf disaster long enough to determine that nobody was in danger and that Isabella knew the rules about when and why to call 911. According to Lt. Mandola, the little girl understands that 911 is for emergencies only, however, in the aftermath of her elf troubles, she was “scared to death that Christmas was ruined and Santa wouldn’t come.”

In addition to making sure that the 7-year-old was safe and sound and that she knows the 911 basics, local authorities went the extra mile to ensure that Isabella knew that Santa Clause wasn’t mad at her for knocking down the Elf on the Shelf. Members of the area fire department dress up as Santa and drive around town annually. This year, the police and fire department made sure Santa made a special stop at Isabella’s house on Tuesday night to follow-up on her Elf on the Shelf 911 call.

The 7-year-old was told by Santa Clause himself that everything was okay, nobody was in trouble. She was also told not to worry about her Elf on the Shelf.

[Image Courtesy Of @TheCut/Twitter]