When police officer Tyler Beddoes first arrived at the scene of a deadly car wreck on a frigid day back in March 2015, he had no idea that what he was about to experience would profoundly change his life.
Beddoes, who serves on the Spanish Fork Police Department, recalled in an interview with Faithwire last year how he and three of his fellow cops heard a mysterious voice at the scene — one that, to this day, has no natural explanation.
It all unfolded on a quiet Saturday morning in March 2015. Beddoes said he was eating lunch with his wife and kids, but had “a gut feeling” that he needed to leave to go and assist his fellow officers after the call came through about the wreck.
“It was a rather slow, quiet Saturday morning when we were dispatched to the Spanish Fork River for an overturned car,” he recalled. “At this time we weren’t aware anyone was inside.”
Then, something unbelievable happened. When Beddoes and his fellow officers reached the scene and started walking down the river bank toward the overturned vehicle, they all simultaneously heard a clear and distinct voice.
“We all heard an adult female voice, which was a calm voice saying, ‘Help me, help me,'” he recalled. “This voice really guided us to the car and gave us hope that whoever was calling out was alive.”
But here’s the crazy part: Once the officers reached the vehicle, they quickly realized that the adult female inside had been deceased for quite some time (later, they found out she died on impact 14 hours earlier). That said, the woman’s daughter, an 18-month-old baby named Lily, was still alive — yet unconscious — in the back seat of the vehicle.
Realizing time was of the essence, Beddoes and his fellow officers rushed to try and save her.
“We realized, ‘Ok … Lily had been upside down in an overturned car in freezing temperatures for 14 hours with the only company being her dead mother. This really rocked my world,” Beddoes said. “I was in pure shock. I instantly thought of my own little children. My newborn child, the love parents have for their children.”
It was the question of that voice, though, that persisted, as there was no natural explanation surrounding who was calling out to the officers for help. They all clearly heard the voice, though there were no other people around at the scene when they arrived, eventually leading Beddoes to conclude that “the only explanation was divine intervention.”
“Lily’s mother, Jennifer, had been killed on impact. Lily had been unconscious, in a freezing state and couldn’t have spoken those words,” he said. “I know that angels are messengers and protectors. I have no doubt that we were guided by an angel that had stayed to assure Lily was safe until rescuers arrived.”
Beddoes also believes God was trying to send him a message through the incident, as he was going through a difficult situation at the time the accident occurred, describing himself as being trapped in “a downward spiral.”
“I don’t know if it was 10 years of police work, the bad calls I had prior, or if it was the negative impact of the world, but I felt I was on the edge of a cliff, spiritually speaking, until this incident,” he said, explaining how the event changed everything. “Lily lost her mother, which I can’t imagine, but hearing the voice, receiving the feelings I had and seeing that God helps us, sends help for us, and watches over us really changed me.”
Beddoes said the experience caused him to look entirely differently at the world, rediscovering his belief in the idea that “God will always come through.” In the end, hearing the voice and coming to these realizations offered him hope.
Not long after, Beddoes decided to write “Proof of Angels,” a book that documents his experience — a text he penned in an effort to help others who face similar challenges, doubts and struggles in their own lives.
Listen to Beddoes share his story last year on “The Church Boys” podcast:
While he knows there are critics out there who might doubt his story about the mystery voice that led them to Lily, he said the details of the case simply speak for themselves, specifically the fact that four officers all heard the same thing (the other cops were not involved in the writing of “Proof of Angels“).
“I was as doubtful as anyone until this happened to me,” he said. “If you really take the time to look around you angels are near and help frequently. … I honestly believe God sends angels to help us in all aspects of life.”
As for Lily, Beddoes said she’s doing amazingly well, and now lives with her father. Remarkably, she has no health issues or permanent injuries from the accident.
“It has been almost two years since this day and Lily has no side effects, which is truly a miracle,” he said. “She is such a blessing to so many, and I am fortunate that I know her.”