Calgary 911 staff failed to follow established procedures after receiving calls about missing child Parker Wells, delaying police notification and response before his death, according to an internal City of Calgary review.The review examined two 911 calls made from Wells' day home on July 16, 2026, along with dispatch decisions and whether employees followed operational policies.“The outcome of this review is difficult,” said Iain Bushell, the city's director of Emergency Management and Community Safety. “As it identified instances where established procedures were not followed, resulting in a delay in how certain information was acted on. That delay did not meet the standard of service we expect.”The first call was received at 10:53 a.m. The caller said they did not want to file a missing person report at that point and would call again if Wells was not located shortly.No Priority 1 police event was created.The review concluded enough information had been provided to classify the case as an “endangered missing child” and a Priority 1 police event should have been initiated under existing policy.A supervisor reviewed the call after it was entered as an advised event but did not reopen, escalate or reassess it.Investigators found the supervisor should have more fully considered the information available, including Wells' age and the fact day home staff could not find him.The original caller contacted 911 again at 11:24 a.m. to formally report Wells missing.A Priority 1 missing person event was not created until 11:41 a.m., 17 minutes after that second call..The review said the delay represented a potential opportunity for police to have been dispatched earlier.City officials concluded the failures involved staff not following existing procedures rather than shortcomings in the procedures themselves.“The review found that sufficient information was shared to recognize the occurrence as an endangered missing child event and that the established procedures related to missing persons, event prioritization, dispatch requirements and event management were not followed,” the city said.The departures from those procedures contributed to delayed police notification and response, according to the review.The city said disciplinary action has been taken but would not identify the employees involved or provide details, citing confidentiality requirements concerning personnel matters.Calgary 911 has also made several operational changes following the review.Calls entered as not requiring police assistance are now reviewed every 15 to 30 minutes by two supervisors instead of one. Employees have also completed a mandatory review of missing-person policies and participated in briefings focused on accuracy, timeliness, critical thinking and dispatch decisions.The city is introducing spot checks and periodic reviews of calls while undertaking a broader examination of policies and standard operating procedures.Training for new recruits will be extended by one week to 11 weeks, while additional instruction on critical thinking, emotional intelligence and problem solving is being developed for new and existing employees.Supervisors will also receive enhanced training on reviewing events and determining when cases need to be escalated.“We are committed to strengthening our processes and ensuring our employees have the support, training and tools they need to serve Calgarians effectively,” Bushell said.“Our thoughts remain with Parker’s family, loved ones and all those affected by this tragic loss. We will ensure the lessons from this tragedy lead to meaningful improvements in how we serve the community.”
