By David Lohr

(Continued)

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Yesterday evening, I called the Denison Fire Department to see if an official from their department provided information about Sean's discovery to the media.  The dispatcher who answered the phone transferred me to a man who identified himself as the "Shift Officer."  I explained who I was and gave him my name, but when I asked him to identify himself, he refused.  His reasoning for this is unknown. 

When I asked the shift officer if someone within the department discussed the case with the press, he said he heard the report suggesting that they had, but he insisted that the information was not true; however, in the same breath, he told me I could not quote him.  When I asked him why, he said I would need to refer my questions to the Denison Police Department. 

Before my conversation with the shift officer ended, I again asked him his name, and he still refused to reveal it.  I find it quite suspicious that he could not tell me his name.  If his department did not speak to the press, as he claims, what was the harm in telling me his name?  I think the city of Denison may want to take a close look at the people in charge of their fire department.  I have a hard time trusting someone who refuses to even tell me his name.

In addition to calling the fire department, I also sent off the following email to KXII yesterday evening:

——- Original Message ——-

From: David Lohr

To: FirstNews

Sean Fryar's family learned about his discovery when you reported it.  Is it common practice for your news station to publicize this information before the police department has had an opportunity to notify the family?  Your immediate response to this question would be greatly appreciated. 

Three minutes after I sent it, I received a read receipt in my email; however, as of this writing, no one from the station has responded.

UPDATE - 4/20/07 3:26pm

Shortly after this story went to print I received a response from Charlie Haldeman, the news director for KXII.  According to Charlie it is not common for his station to report on deaths until next-of-kin has been notified.  He said that his station received their information from Denison Police and Fire Authorities about 30 minutes after the discovery of the body.  He said his station had apologized to the family for the way the events unfolded.  Why fire or police officials chose to discuss the matter with the news before the family was notified was not yet known.

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