Good samaritans save abducted girl

[Liberal_in_LA]

About 7 a.m. (10 a.m. ET), a person described by Dyer as a good Samaritan told police he was driving when he saw a truck similar to a description of the suspect's vehicle given by authorities. The person, who had watched the news and was familiar with the case, began to follow the truck, Dyer said.

The driver initially said he only saw a man in the truck and no one else, but within a few minutes saw a child stick her head up. "He realized right then and there he had the suspect vehicle," Dyer said.

The man pulled in front of the truck and cut it off, and Elisa "took the moment of opportunity, opened up the passenger door, and jumped out and ran," he said. A second good Samaritan stayed with the girl, Dyer said.

The driver pursued the pickup truck and was able to obtain a partial license plate number, which he gave to dispatchers, the chief said.

About 40 minutes later, the California Highway Patrol received a report of a truck matching the vehicle description parked behind a church, Dyer said. Responding officers were not able to find the truck at the location and contacted the tipster, who advised them it had been driven away. It was later found parked nearby, behind an apartment complex.

The officer initially thought the truck was not occupied, but a man raised up as the officer exited his car, Dyer said. He was taken into custody without incident. A witness has identified the man as the person they saw at the abduction scene, the chief said.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/10/05/california.child.taken/index.html?hpt=T2

[joeybee12]

1. Good for them...I like happy endings...KNR

[JuniperLea]

2. Good news!

Good to know there are a few Good Samaritans left in the world!

[Oceansaway]

3. K&R...n/t

[lpbk2713]

4. Outstanding!

I'm glad this individual decided to get involved.
It made all the difference in the world.

[Renew Deal]

5. Great news

:bounce:

[hayu_lol]

6. I wish more of these cases...

would end this way.

Really lucky girl and family.

[renate]

7. what a HERO!!!!!

That story makes me feel all tingly and happy. What a wonderful man!

[Uncle Joe]

8. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Liberal_in_LA.

[Warpy]

9. It's nice so many strangers worked together to free the child

and get a sick man off the streets.

[Spazito]

10. More proof positive (as if any was needed) how important Amber Alerts are....

and the difference they make.

Thanks for the heartwarming OP, it is much appreciated.

Recommended.

[rocktivity]

11. Reminds me of a story of a whole neighborhood that got involved

A neighbor saw a child get pulled into a car. She called neighbors who lived further down the road, then the local diner in town. One of the customers was a trucker who jumped on his CB radio (remember those?). They all kept an eye on the vehicle until the cops caught up with them! CUE THE VONAGE THEME!

:woohoo:
rocktivity

P.S. Because of an Amber alert, the police were able to follow the suspect vehicle to a cabin in the woods--where a hole had already been dug.

[JNelson6563]

12. Every-day heroes!!

I love 'em!

[ThomCat]

13. I am very glad that some people are willing to jump in and help

this way. :)

I'm very glad she is home, and I hope she is able to recover from the sexual assault.

If the family takes this seriously as something that will take a long time to heal, and doesn't ever start to take a "just get over it already" attitude like so many victims families unfortunately do after a while, and if they are able to find really good counseling for her and let her stick to it, hopefully she will be well. :hug:

I hope the courts take this seriously too, and put this guy awake for the rest of his life. Far too many sexual predators get probation, or only a token number of MONTHS in jail and then parole. Rape and sexual assault rarely seems to be taken seriously by our criminal justice system. :(

The fact that she's a very young girl, and he's a Hispanic gang member will all count against him though, so maybe he actually will get years in jail. It will be interesting to see what the courts do. If they can't keep this sexual predator in jail for a long-term sentence for This case, then I don't think our criminal justice system really has the will or the desire to keep sexual predators in jail at all.

[DirkGently]

14. Suspect in custody, too.