By ADRIAN SAINZ
Associated Press Writer

MEMPHIS, Tenn.(AP) -- Police dispatchers didn't alert patrol
officers or commanders to a 911 call from the phone of former
NBA player Lorenzen Wright because they couldn't confirm that it
came from inside their suburban Memphis jurisdiction, documents
show.

Wright's body was found in woods on July 28 after he had been
missing for 10 days. He was shot to death, and police are
looking for the killer or killers of the beloved Memphis sports
hero.

Germantown dispatcher Claudia Kenley Woods said the police
department's mapping system couldn't plot the precise location
of the call placed in the early morning hours of July 19, but
the latitude and longitude indicated it came from outside their
town. Woods and her supervisor, Lt. Donald Taylor, said they
couldn't tell the phone belonged to Wright.

When investigators finally learned of the call July 27, they
used information from it to launch the search that found
Wright's body. Friends and family filed a missing person report
on July 22 and have complained that police did not show enough
urgency in looking for Wright.

Top police officials in the suburb of Germantown are
investigating how the 911 call was handled and on Monday
released some records, which they said they edited to protect
the homicide investigation.

"I answered the phone and heard what appeared to be (REDACTED),"
Woods told a police inspector and captain who interviewed her
about the call. "There was no voice. No other noise."

Taylor said he tried to use his iPhone to plot the coordinates
but it did not work. He said he did not report the call to any
outside law enforcement agency because "the information I had
was an unknown call from an unknown location."

Taylor said dispatchers have transferred calls to Memphis
before, but only when the caller has given them a location.

Memphis police are leading the investigation but won't discuss
if they have any suspects or motive. They have the 911
recording, which is not being made available.

Taylor said he didn't search the Internet for the coordinates
because only one console has Internet access in the office, and
that access was limited. Taylor said he has asked that more
Internet access be made available to dispatchers.

Dispatchers get 50 to 100 hang-up 911 calls a month from outside
Germantown during his shift alone, some from as far as
Louisiana, Taylor said.

"Obviously there's some newer technology out there that will
make it a much better job than we can, but we're somewhat
limited, you know, because of the cost," said police Inspector
Danny Payne, who was interviewing Taylor.

Wright's mother, Deborah Marion, told The Associated Press that
Germantown's handling of the 911 call was "ridiculous" and they
should offer her an apology.

"Even if they couldn't have saved him, they could have gotten to
the murderers quicker," Marion said Tuesday.

The 6-foot-11 Wright played 13 seasons in the NBA for the Los
Angeles Clippers, Atlanta Hawks, Memphis Grizzlies, Sacramento
Kings and most recently the Cleveland Cavaliers. Wright left the
University of Memphis early for the NBA, and the Clippers made
him a lottery pick with the No. 7 selection overall.

He averaged 8 points and 6.4 rebounds in 778 career games.

Wright leaves behind six children, his mother Deborah Marion,
and father Herb Wright, who coached his son from a wheelchair
after he was shot in the spine. Lorenzen Wright's 11-month-old
daughter, Sierra, died in March 2003 of sudden infant death
syndrome.

A memorial service is planned for Wednesday at the FedEx Forum,
where the Grizzlies play their home games.