In Greensboro, a mother, Heather Owen, is expressing immense gratitude after a close call where her 8-year-old daughter was nearly kidnapped.
This harrowing incident occurred at the West Market Street Biscuitville restaurant on December 27, 2019, around 8:20 a.m.
Heather and her daughter are regulars at this restaurant, enjoying their breakfast outings, never anticipating such a horrifying encounter.
Heather recounts the shocking moment when a man attempted to snatch her daughter.
“I saw, he had just come out of the bathroom and he just tried to grab her,” were the words captured in the 911 recordings from that day.
A vigilant customer, witnessing the incident, promptly intervened, preventing the suspect from fleeing with the child.
The suspect managed to escape, but not before the quick-thinking Samaritan captured images of him and his license plate.
Heather is profoundly thankful for this good Samaritan’s swift and decisive actions.
“I gave him the biggest hug in the whole world and I told him, ‘the guardian angel forever,’ there are just no words to put into what he did,” she expressed, overwhelmed with emotion.
The photographs provided by this guardian angel enabled the officers to locate and apprehend 55-year-old Timothy Fry.
Fry faces charges of first-degree kidnapping and indecent liberties, with an arrest report revealing his sinister plan to keep the girl in “sexual servitude.”
While Fry remains behind bars, Heather clings to her daughter a bit more these days, her hugs a little tighter, and her gratitude boundless
“What do you say to somebody or do for somebody that has saved your child’s life, literally, thank you is not enough,” she reflects.
Heather is sharing her story in the hope that it serves as a lesson to other parents to remain vigilant and be aware of their surroundings.
She wants to emphasize the importance of community awareness and prompt response to suspicious activities to ensure the safety of all children.
Kathie Niven, the president of Biscuitville, also issued a statement: “Biscuitville takes the safety of our guests very seriously, and we are working with law enforcement as they investigate the December 27 incident at our West Market Street restaurant. We join Ms. Owen in being extremely grateful to the good Samaritan at Biscuitville who stepped up to address the situation.”
Heather and her daughter have made it a tradition to have lunch dates at Biscuitville in Greensboro, North Carolina.
On this particular day, Heather’s daughter wanted to use the restroom by herself, and Heather, keeping her in eyesight, felt comfortable letting her do so.
However, Heather noticed a man seated nearby who seemed to be observing her daughter.
Heather kept a close watch on him, trying not to jump to conclusions.
“You don’t want to pre-judge anybody ’cause that happens a lot nowadays,” she mentioned.
“I was like, ‘Well, maybe he really is going to use the bathroom.'”
But, as her daughter exited the bathroom, the man attempted to grab her.
It was then that a stranger, who had been quietly observing the unfolding situation, intervened.
The stranger had been suspicious from the start, noticing the man’s intense focus on the girl.
“The fact that when I came in, he was just staring at the girl, and he was just so focused on her. And then once he got up to go to the bathroom right out there [where] she went, that’s when I was like, ‘OK, I’m already not feeling right about this.'”
This story underscores the importance of community vigilance and the powerful impact of a stranger’s kindness and courage.
Hear the grateful family and their hero recount that terrifying day in the video below.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
