The story coming out of Cleveland today is incredible. Amanda Berry was abducted on April 21, 2003, at the age of 16. Last night she escaped, crossed the street to a neighbor’s house, and called 911. There were two other girls held by three men, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. All three are safe.
This man, Charles Ramsey, is a neighbor of the three brothers who abducted the girls. He helped rescue the captives. He’ll be autotuned by the end of the week.
From the AP:
The women’s escape and rescue began with a frenzied cry for help.
A neighbor, Charles Ramsey, told WEWS-TV he heard screaming Monday and saw Berry, whom he didn’t recognize, at a door that would open only enough to fit a hand through. He said she was trying desperately to get outside and pleaded for help to reach police.
“I heard screaming,” he said. “I’m eating my McDonald’s. I come outside. I see this girl going nuts trying to get out of a house.”
Neighbor Anna Tejeda was sitting on her porch with friends when they heard someone across the street kicking a door and yelling.
Tejeda, 50, said one of her friends went over and told Berry how to kick the screen out of the bottom of the door, which allowed her to get out.
Speaking Spanish, which was translated by one of her friends, Tejeda said Berry was nervous and crying. She was dressed in pajamas and old sandals.
At first Tejeda said she didn’t want to believe who the young woman was. “You’re not Amanda Berry,” she insisted. “Amanda Berry is dead.”
But when Berry told her she’d been kidnapped and held captive, Tejeda said she gave her the telephone to call police, who arrived within minutes and then took the other women from the house.
On a recorded 911 call Monday, Berry declared: “I’m Amanda Berry. I’ve been on the news for the last 10 years.”
She said she had been taken by someone and begged for police officers to come to the home on Cleveland’s west side before the man returned.
“I’ve been kidnapped, and I’ve been missing for 10 years,” she told the dispatcher. “And I’m here. I’m free now.”
She’s now 27 years old. Police today said that Ariel Castro, the leader of the brothers who captured the girls, was interviewed years ago but was not even a suspect in the kidnappings. The house is still being investigated as a crime scene. Berry has been reunited with some of her family this morning.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member