By Hodges Horton (Whetstone Contributor) 

Dr. Elizabeth Siemanowski thought it was just going to be another Thursday morning in Budd Hall.

She was wrong.

About 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 12, a Wesley security guard asked the psychology professor if she could look in the first floor women’s bathroom for a 6-foot-1 woman who security suspected had run into while fleeing from Dover police.

The guard told her she had dark hair, wore blue jeans, a black jacket with a fur trim – and she had a gun.

Siemanowski agreed to help find the suspect.

“Although I had not heard anything untoward that morning, I should not have gone into a potential hiding place of an armed individual without more protection,” Siemanowski said later.

As she slowly walked into the restroom, she made sure the security guard was close behind her.

“I was not coerced,” Siemanowski said, “and certainly could have refused to help. Given any preference, in retrospect, I’d prefer to interpret my actions as altruistic, rather than stemming from obedience to the request of an authority figure.”

There was no answer after Siemanowski asked if someone was in there.

Bud Hall photo by: Cochise Lucas/Whetstone

She opened the door to each of the stalls to make sure that no one was there.

She told faculty who were on the first floor that there may have been an armed woman on the loose.

Several faculty members closed their office doors.

Later, the entire Wesley College campus discovered via text-messaging that an armed suspect had abandoned a stolen vehicle found on State Street in front of the Admissions House.

Dover Police and Wesley security began a search of the campus to find her. They never found her, although some sources said it was the result of a domestic dispute.

Head of Security Walt Beaupre alerted all staff and students via text and email.

“As the police were looking for her and it was close to campus, I felt it was best to alert the campus community,” he said.

Beaupre also said he talked to the security guard about his conduct with Siemanowski.

“What we did the morning of Jan. 12 was not the proper procedure to follow,” he said. “I’ve spoken with the security officer involved and we’ve discussed what we would do different if a similar situation would ever occur.”