1.) If a phoneline, and you are positive the person is still not connected, you can disconnect that person. To do so, right-click the busy channel. You will be prompted to place the channel On-Hook - say Yes.
2.) If that does not free the channel, or results in the channel having a Script Terminated status for more than a half a minute, restart the Recorder service. To do so, right-click the status text on the right side of the menubar (should say Recorder Running). Stop the service. Once it says Recorder STOPPED, repeat the steps to turn the Recorder back on.