Dramatic events took place in Cleveland on Monday as 3 women and a 6 year old little girl escaped after being held captive for nearly a decade. “I’ve been kidnapped and I’ve been missing for 10 years and I’m, I’m here, I’m free now,” Is what Amanda Berry desperately told the 911 dispatcher after her brave escape.
Reminiscent of the Jaycee Dugard story these women vanished when they were in their teens and early 20s. I love hearing happy endings to such stories but the terror these poor girls went through all those years is unfathomable. I can only imagine how those families are feeling now that they are reunited with their girls who surely they feared were dead by now. It offers hope to those searching for missing loved ones.
Most people do not come out of these situations alive. There is a sick and pervasive problem in the country and it has to end. This outcome was good but the number of people suffering at the hands of these monsters is sickening. It’s an issue I am passionate about because it seriously outrages me. These abductions are horrific and ruin the lives of all involved. Agencies like Protect and the The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children work tirelessly ever day to help prevent abuse and save victims but they can only do so much. They could use our help.
3 brothers, one of which is a former school bus driver, are in custody thanks to the heroic efforts of neighbor Charles Ramsey who helped Amanda Berry get out. Ramsey told reporters that he no idea they were in there but did express concern to a friend shortly after moving to the neighborhood a year ago. He said that he suspected something was wrong in that house after hearing sounds in a home that supposedly only one man inhabited but his friend dissuaded him from exploring the possibility or taking action.
What kind of fucked up upbringing did these men have to all turn out to be demonic pedophiles?! I hope they and all perpetrators of such acts of violence get the full penalty of the law and NEVER get out of prison.
None of the other neighbors were aware the girls were in the house either, however, several are saying that they had called the police on after some alarming activity but nothing was done.
Ramsey said that if he had known about it he’d “have pulled this heroic stuff last year!” He told Anderson Cooper that he doesn’t consider himself a hero and what makes him lose sleep is that he didn’t realize it sooner and do something a year ago. But he can’t blame himself, he did the right thing when he had the chance. It’s a lesson to us all to be aware of what’s going on around us, you never know who might need your help.
Ramsey is certainly a hero but the courage that Amanda Berry displayed in taking that risk to get out is inspiring and impressive. This is a serious and dire situation but with a happy ending as these 3 women and Berry’s daughter are finally free. May more victims be blessed with the strength Berry had and may more people take action the way Ramsey did. Thankfully Mr. Ramsey was there to help and it can’t go unnoticed how animated, full of personality and frankly entertaining he is as he tells the story in this must watch video footage, he’s a growing internet sensation, everyone will know his name by the end of the day:
No One. That is why it is vital that the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) be reformed. Would you be shocked to find out that there may be flame retardants in the peanut butter that you give to your kids? I was. The act was passed in 1976 to regulate the thousands of chemicals in commerce but it desperately needs an overhaul because it is not protecting consumers.
