Although many students pass by them everyday on campus, emergency phones are often overlooked, one of those things pointed out on a campus tour, but soon forgotten — unless you need them.

But don’t plan on needing the emergency phone by the Physical Education Building and Lot 50 on the northeast side of campus, though. It’s missing. It’s been missing for three weeks, and hasn’t been working correctly since this summer.

The only thing that remains is a jumble of loose wires.

Randy Larabee, an electrical engineer for Facilities Planning and Management, said the emergency phone was removed because of a faulty cable. The cable was damaged when the contractor who worked on repaving Lot 50 late last summer hit it with some equipment.

Larabee said the telephone cable worked for a little while and then stopped working.

“Once the cable has been repaired the phone will be hooked back up,” Larabee said. Cold weather has kept the ground frozen and kept the contractor from installing a new cable, he said.

Larabee said the phone will be reinstalled as soon as possible.

“Hopefully we can get the cable fixed soon,” he said. “And the phone will be hooked up within two to three days.”

There are nine emergency phones scattered throughout campus.

Lt. Lowell Huggins of the Department of Public Safety said it’s rare for an emergency phone on campus to be out of service.

“They’re checked on a weekly basis, usually on the weekends,” Huggins said.

Most of the time vandalism is the cause of emergency phone problems.

The phones are primarily used by motorists who are having car trouble. “We don’t get a lot of crank calls,” he said. “The emergency phones are very reliable.”

The contractor has agreed to pay to fix the phone.