Girl, 8, Escapes Captor

V A L L E J O, Calif., Aug. 14 -- An 8-year-old girl who had been missing for two days is safe after a daring escape from her abductor, authorities said.

The girl, who was grabbed by a man in a car Thursday as she walked home from school, was able to escape her captor Saturday afternoon — even though her leg was restrained in the front seat of his car, police said. The girl’s family, who spent 48 agonizing hours praying for her safe return, said she usually walked home with her brother. But for some reason, she was alone Thursday when she started the 10-block walk. She was only a block from home when her abductor grabbed her, police said.

Somehow on Saturday, she was able to find the keys to her shackles, unlock her herself and bolt from the vehicle. She then ran screaming for help up the street toward a passing truck in Santa Clara, said Anton Morec, a spokesman for the Santa Clara Police Department.

The girl’s name, which was originally reported after her abduction, is now being withheld by many news agencies since the charges against her suspected attacker include sex crimes.

Tried to Pick Lock

The driver of the 18-wheel truck “pulled up, she jumped up immediately into his vehicle. She told him she had been kidnapped and she needed help,” Morec said. “She did all the right things. Her instincts were very good for an 8-year-old.”

Truck driver Carl Tafua said the girl showed him the chain mark on her leg and quickly explained how she managed to free herself.

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“She was screaming, saying, ‘He’s coming to get me, he’s going to kill me,’” said Tafua.

The girl tried to pick the lock of her leg shackles Friday with anail file, but the tip broke off so she abandoned that plan. Shespent Thursday and Friday night sleeping on the front seat of herabductor’s car.

Her suspected kidnapper had chased her as she ran down the street but quickly turned around when he saw she had reached someone, said Lt. JoAnn West of the Vallejo Police Department. West said the driver recognized the suspect.