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911 calls released in alleged Centerville kidnapping, assault

Posted at 9:23 PM, May 16, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-17 10:53:46-04

CENTERVILLE, Utah -- Newly released 911 audio captures the frantic moments when a teenager called for help after being held captive and attacked May 11 in Centerville.

"They beat her in the ribs and her eye and everywhere and she's just bleeding,” the caller told a dispatcher.

The teenage call is one of four girls between the ages of 13 and 18, along with their mother, who say they were lured to a Centerville home for a barbecue with family friend DJ Harrison. When they arrived, they say DJ and his father Flint Wayne Harrison had duct tape and zip ties waiting in the basement.

"His dad was with him and his dad brought out the gun and he started putting zip ties on us and he put tape over our mouths,” the caller said.

The mother of the teen girls gave an interview to FOX 13 News, but asked to remain anonymous.

"I would never think my girls would have to go through something like this,” the mother said.

Attacked with a baseball bat and threatened with a shotgun, the mother said she took the worst of the beating.

She has four stitches over her left eye. One of the teenage girls has a broken thumb.

"These will all heal, it's the, it's still such a long road ahead of us to get past the why, and the how come?” said the mother.

The family says they have stayed close to home, but word of DJ and Flint Harrisons’ capture in Wyoming has provided some relief. But it is still hard to go out in public.

"Every man that you look at almost seems like it's his face and they all look so angry. Because he looked so angry that night, like he just looked so upset at nothing. At nothing,” said the mother.

At the beginning of the 911 call, the teenager on the phone is so frantic the dispatcher has to ask repeatedly to calm down. Bits and pieces in the first two minutes can be heard clearly.

"OK, so you were attacked?” 911 dispatcher asked.

"Yes and hurry my mom's eye is bleeding,” the teenage caller responded.

The trauma of the attack is sure to be slow to fade. But slower yet to fade may be the lessons of survival.

"Never back down, never give up,” said the mother.