It’s very difficult to be prepared for all of the surprises that life can throw at you. It’s always very impressive when someone is able to react in a dangerous situation and prevent a tragedy from happening, and it’s even more impressive when that person is still in grade school.
Delicia, Brenden and Owen Wright from Sprague, Washington were playing in a local park near the home of a family friend who was babysitting for the family. At the time, Delicia was eight, Brenden ten and their little brother Owen was only 22 months old and was still being wheeled around in a stroller.
The family friend had allowed the children to visit the park unattended thinking that their small town was a safe place. But when the children were approached by a young man with a moustache and glasses, Delicia knew that something wasn’t right. He began a conversation with the children and tried to appear friendly, but Brenden and Delicia were not fooled.
“He said: ‘I’m good with kids…I can…I got this. I’ve been babysitting’. He sounds nice but he’s really not nice,” remembers Delicia. After saying this he quickly grabbed Owen and took off running with him in his arms.
Delicia and Brenden were shocked but they were still able to react. As fast as her little legs could carry her, Delicia ran after the man and screamed for help.
Brenden was close behind her and soon Delicia’s screams alerted Isaac Yow and Andrew Crain, two teenagers who joined in the chase.
When the kidnapper noticed that he was being followed by a small group of pursuers, he gave up, set Owen down and ran off. Fortunately the young boy was left unharmed.
A surveillance camera outside a local grocery store caught part of the chase on video. The children’s father, Michael Wright, was incredibly proud when he watched the footage of his heroic kids and their daring chase.
Michael knows just how lucky his family was and sums it up in this statement: “The biggest thing is, my family is nice and safe. If it wasn’t for my two super heroes right here and the other two boys, I would probably never see my son again.”
The police showed Isaac and Andrew some photos and they were quickly able to identify the kidnapper. The police and the family were astonished to find out that it was actually a 15-year-old local boy who had disguised himself with a fake moustache and glasses and that it wasn’t the first time that he had approached children on a playground. The perpetrator pleaded guilty and was sentenced to just over a year in a youth detention facility. The Wright family is happy and relieved to know that he won’t be posing a threat to any other children for a while at least.
Talk about brave kids! Thank goodness for little Owen that he has such courageous siblings keeping an eye on him.
