Thanks everyone for the ideas. I called back once the regular shift was on and got lucky to talk with Mary Ellen. She worked for over 1 hour to try all different ways, including seeing if the Mileage Plus department would take points from my wife's account to pay for her ticket.

In the end, she was able to talk to several supervisors and talk to some special department and was able to break out the reservation.

It really helps to call back and try different agents.