Clara Bundy, hometown hero

Eureka County Sheriff’s Office communications supervisor Clara Bundy received a phone call from the Nevada State Police regarding a possible kidnapping out of St. George, Utah, on Aug. 20. She was given a vehicle description and a last-known GPS location to be on the lookout for. Below, in her own words, Bundy recounts the events as they unfolded that day.

“I googled the GPS, and it showed that the last known location was off our cell tower on Prospect Peak. I notified the on-duty deputies to respond, to check the area with the vehicle description. I then contacted the St. George Police Department to gather phone numbers for the people in the vehicle. I was hoping to get updated pings from their phones, if possible. I called the cell phone provider to complete those pings every 15 minutes, until we could determine if they were still in our county. The cell phones were turned off at that time, but then they came back on, allowing us to get location information. I contacted the Lander County Sheriff’s Office with the updated location and sent our CAD (the call with all of the information gathered from the incident) directly to them and Pershing. Our systems are linked, allowing us to share communications. I also sent the CAD to St. George and the Nevada State Police. Fifteen minutes later, I received a new ping. I called Humboldt County with the information showing that the vehicle was in their area. I again updated St. George and the Nevada State Police. I called the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office just in case Humboldt County was unable to apprehend the suspect. Humboldt County was able to make contact and apprehend the suspect and secure the mother and her children.

As soon as the phone showed that they were out of Eureka County, it could technically be said that this call was no longer our responsibility. I felt I needed to continue working this call, to go the extra mile. It was extremely lucky that we all worked together to get the mother and her children to a safe place. It worked out very well, and we are happy that they were found safely. I would like to thank all of the counties and agencies involved. It was a group effort and expresses the importance of following through with our work. It was a win for the good guys.”

Bundy is no stranger to law enforcement. She has been dispatching for the Eureka County Sheriff’s Office for approximately 16 years. She had no background in the field before she started, other than taking a few criminal justice classes at Great Basin College in Elko. Over the course of her career, she has trained and received certifications in dispatching, radios, computer systems, emergency medical dispatching and crisis intervention team training. She became an instructor for Traffic Incident Management Systems and Below 100 (to help lower the number of officer line of duty deaths). She is a communications training officer and communications center manager.

“I enjoy my work very much,” Bundy said. “It is a life and a family that I am proud to be part of. I couldn’t do it without the support of my husband, Lynn, and our two boys, Evan and Adam. Working for the sheriff’s office under great leaders has helped me to better teach new tele communicators. We have an amazing crew who help our community every day. Thank you to Trina, Lena, MarCia, Jessica and Jeanna.”

There are many ways to define a hero, none more fitting than putting others before yourself. Eureka County’s hometown hero, Clara Bundy, did that very thing with diligence and professionalism. A family is safe because of her selfless actions.