2 sanitation workers save 10-year-old
The girl was reported missing from a family member's home on Sunday. Dion Merrick and Brandon Antoine found them after they discovered the alleged kidnapper's car.
According Minyvonne Burke
A 10-year-old girl from Louisiana who was kidnapped over the weekend was found safe after two health workers discovered the alleged kidnapper's vehicle. The girl had disappeared from a family member's home in New Iberia, about 20 miles southeast of Lafayette, on Sunday afternoon. The new Iberia police issued an amber alert for her and a warrant for her alleged kidnapper, whom police identified as Michael Sereal. Authorities said Sereal was last seen driving a silver Nissan Altima. Dion Merrick and Brandon Antoine, who work for Pelican Waste & Debris, said they had just started their route Monday morning when they noticed a silver Nissan parked in the middle of a field in St Martin's parish.
Merrick said he recognized the car immediately from Amber Alert. “I told the guy who was driving with me that the car was. I retreated forward and re-blocked the entrance [to the field], and then called 911,” he said in a phone interview Wednesday. Merrick said the driver of the vehicle opened the car door and Antoine recognized him as the suspect in Amber Alert. He forwarded the information to the 911 dispatcher. The police arrived at the scene of the crime in less than a minute. Merrick explained the arrival of parliamentarians from the parish of St. Martin in a live video on Facebook that garnered two million views on Wednesday. In it, the authorities arrest Sereal as he shouts: “Why are you doing this to me? “He has since been transferred to New Iberia and charged with serious kidnapping and not registering as a sex offender, according to prison records. It appears in the New Iberia sex offender database to obtain a conviction for the carnal knowledge of a young man. Recommended
A spokeswoman for the police department said Sereal knew one of the girl's family members. It was not immediately clear whether he had secured a lawyer. The girl was reunited with her family after Calvary. Merrick, a 39-year-old father and veteran of the U.S. He began working for Pelican Waste less than three months ago. He said he didn't think twice about helping the girl. “I didn't want anything to happen to him,” he said. “We're all from the same city. We're a big community, it may be a small town, but we're a tight community, so I had to do what I had to do for my community.” Pelican Waste & Debris praised Merrick and Antoine for their role in saving the girl. “At Pelican Waste, we strive to create a family atmosphere and try to convey it to our employees. We are now and always very proud of the genuine efforts made by these valued employees,” said a company spokesman. “It was something extraordinary that could have saved a little girl's life.
0 Comments