On July 6, a child was kidnapped in Texas; three days later, she was freed in Long Beach after waving a “Help Me” sign from the back of the truck in which she was being held. The girl was rescued thanks to the quick thinking of a kind Samaritan and her own efforts to get aid in whatever way she could, according to the Long Beach police.
The police report states that the 13-year-old victim wrote “Help Me” in red ink on a piece of crumpled paper and held it while sitting in a car in the laundromat parking lot. Someone in need of the sign saw it. “She (the good Samaritan) is my customer,” said Touch Vong at Easy Wash Laundromat. “She always comes to wash here, and she came and told me the girl in the car needed help.”
According to Vong, the patron left the store and returned to dial 911. The man who allegedly abducted the girl was doing laundry when he was discovered, according to the police. Vong claimed that at one point that morning, he brought the girl inside. Vong claimed she had a horrible feeling about the man and the girl when she saw them.
The tweet below verifies the news:
A 13-year-old girl who was kidnapped in Texas was rescued more than a thousand miles away in California after a community member saw her holding up a “Help Me!” sign and contacted authorities. https://t.co/yGIwpFYvul
— NBC News (@NBCNews) July 22, 2023
Vong said of the frightening figure, “He looked down to me,” adding that she knew something was wrong. Steven Robert Sablan, 61, of Cleburne, Texas, was taken into custody by police after a call from a concerned customer. A federal indictment states that on July 6th, the child was walking in San Antonio when a man in a silver Nissan approached her.
The driver, later identified as Sablan, threatened her with bodily harm if she didn’t get inside the car with him. Sablan is accused of s*ually assaulting the 13-year-old multiple times while driving her from San Antonio to Long Beach, as detailed in the indictment. A black BB gun and handcuffs were discovered by responding officers after the good Samaritan dialed 911.
“I’m shocked, but happy, because the police rescued her,” Vong added. Sablan was accused of abducting a juvenile and transporting her for the purpose of engaging in s*xual misconduct. On July 31 he will be formally charged and arraigned. On July 6, a child was kidnapped in Texas; three days later, she was freed in Long Beach after waving a “Help Me” sign from the back of the truck in which she was being held.
These are some of the links to other parts of the California Examiner that you might find interesting:
- The Strange Tweets and Suspicious Searches of Carlee Russell: An Abduction Tale Unraveled
- Texas High School Shooting Suspect Found Guilty of Attempted Capital Murder
The girl was rescued thanks to the quick thinking of a kind Samaritan and her own efforts to get aid in whatever way she could, according to the Long Beach police. The police report states that the 13-year-old victim wrote “Help Me” in red ink on a piece of crumpled paper and held it while sitting in a car in the laundromat parking lot. Someone in need of the sign saw it.
“She (the good Samaritan) is my customer,” said Touch Vong at Easy Wash Laundromat. “She always comes to wash here, and she came and told me the girl in the car needed help.” According to Vong, the patron left the store and returned to dial 911. The man who allegedly abducted the girl was doing laundry when he was discovered, according to the police.
Vong claimed that at one point that morning, he brought the girl inside. Vong claimed she had a horrible feeling about the man and the girl when she saw them. Vong said of the frightening figure, “He looked down to me,” adding that she knew something was wrong. Steven Robert Sablan, 61, of Cleburne, Texas, was taken into custody by police after a call from a concerned customer.
A federal indictment states that on July 6th, the child was walking in San Antonio when a man in a silver Nissan approached her. The driver, later identified as Sablan, threatened her with bodily harm if she didn’t get inside the car with him. Sablan is accused of s*xually assaulting the 13-year-old multiple times while driving her from San Antonio to Long Beach, as detailed in the indictment.
A black BB gun and handcuffs were discovered by responding officers after the good Samaritan dialed 911. “I’m shocked, but happy because the police rescued her,” Vong said. Sablan was accused of abducting a juvenile and transporting her for the purpose of engaging in s*xual misconduct. On July 31 he will be formally charged and arraigned.
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