Missing 8 August this year, 15-year-old girl from Alexandria (Minnesota) miraculously managed to escape from the kidnappers a month after the disappearance. Moreover, the girl exposed the criminals.
Jasmine Block was abducted from her home in early August. Outside, the house she met a friend of the family — a 32-year-old Thomas Barker, and because he knew the man, without hesitation agreed to help him solve a family question, heading to his home in his car. In the end, the friend brought the girl not home, and abandoned house, located in the Elbe lake, 30 miles from Alexandria. The man had accomplices – the 31-year-old Joshua Holby and 20-year-old Stephen powers. Both men are linked is not yet clear.
The girl is not just kept in an abandoned house, it used physical and sexual violence. Only a month later, Jasmine managed to escape from captivity. The girl began to knock at the house next door, but nobody opened. It was then noticed her living next door Earl Melchert.
«At first I thought it was a deer,» said 65-year-old Mr. Melchert, reports The New York Times.
«But when I could see her face, I realized: «Oh my gosh, this is a girl from Alexandria who disappeared 29 days ago!». «It was in the news, it was online. The problem became national. It was on posters, in stores, in photos. I immediately recognized her.»
The kidnappers were apprehended almost immediately. When police arrived, she noticed a passing car and recognized him as the car of one of the kidnappers – Stephen powers. The young man was arrested on the spot, two of his accomplices were arrested by the police later.
The local police chief not kept my admiration for the girl. He called it «stunning» and «young lady with a great force,» and Earl Melchert played an important role in the rescue of the kidnapped Jasmine, said she was «a true hero».
On Friday, the police Department of Alexandria presented Melchert remuneration in the amount of $ 7,000, which was earlier promised for information leading to the return of the Jasmine Block: $ 2,000 from the family of the girl and another $ 5,000 from an anonymous donor.
Earl Melchert was so decent and sympathetic person that did not benefit from the incident. He just gave money to the girl’s family.
«It’s the best I’ve ever done,» said Mr. Melkert. «The family needs the money,» he said. «To me, that’s a lot of money, but they need them more than I do.»
A Minnesota man helped rescue a teenager who had been kidnapped and assaulted, then gave her his reward money. https://t.co/MRBuC6i2lU pic.twitter.com/GH7KsEnFnf
Google Pixel (@GooglePixel_) October 8, 2017
