On August 22, a 25-year-old woman was kidnapped after she left a downtown office building in Dallas, Texas. In the parking lot a man with a gun and butcher knife approached her, hit her over the head with the gun, and took her and her car. Nothing good can obviously come of such an abduction and who knows what would have happened to the young woman at the hands of her kidnapper if 19-year-old Aaron Arias and his 17-year-old friend Jamal Harris hadn't spotted her and noticed that she was distressed and mouthing, "Help me!"
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Arias called 911 dispatchers after he and Harris realized that the woman was being kidnapped. In the released 911 call you can hear Arias saying, "Yes, I'm on the highway. I'm witnessing a robbery; not a robbery–a kidnapping." Arias told the dispatcher that he and his friend first noticed the woman and were checking her out because she was attractive, then they noticed she was panicked and "saying, 'Help me,' or something, whispering it."
I love Arias and Harris for helping out this woman and quite possibly saving her life. Listening to Arias' voice on the 911 tape is gripping. You can hear the urgency. I'm also really impressed that they didn't just call 911, they actually kept tailing the car until police apprehended the alleged kidnapper, Charles Atkins Lewis Jr., who is now in jail on $50,000. I mean, these two teenagers didn't know what kind of danger they might be facing and they were compelled to follow and make sure that the woman got help.
The woman was checked out by paramedics and is unharmed. The suspect, Atkins Lewis Jr., is charged with aggravated kidnapping.
I hate that we live in a world where kidnappings occur, but I love that there are people like Aaron Arias and Jamal Harris in it, people that are willing to put themselves in danger to help a total stranger out of danger.
Image via ABC News
