Last year, nearly half a million American children under the age of 21 (232,000 males and 260,000 females) were reported missing.
When these kids go missing, their entire families grieve. Luckily, last year, one brave 12-year-old from Kenosha, Wisconsin, saved a young neighbor from becoming a part of this tragic statistic.
Jada Miller was playing outside when the neighborhood kids approached her in a panic.
They told Jada a local man had just grabbed Caylee, a 4-year-old neighborhood girl, by the wrist and had begun dragging her away. Trinity Stout, 13, told TMJ4:
“He grabbed onto her wrist after he seen nobody was paying attention.”
Upon hearing the news, Jada courageously sprung into action.
The 12-year-old girl chased down the alleged kidnapper and yanked Caylee’s wrist out of his hand.
“I just ran after Caylee. I didn’t know what could have happened next if I wouldn’t have run down there,” she said.
“I felt that if I had stopped to ring the doorbell [and] the parents were too busy doing something, they wouldn’t get to the door in time, so I just went down there and did my own business.”
While Jada pursued the kidnapper, Trinity Stout ran to Caylee’s house to alert the little girl’s parents. Caylee’s father Jeff Carr told TMJ4:
“I wanted to go chase after him, I really did. But that’s not how I was brought up, so I just called the police right away. “
The man, Benjamin Spasogevich-Lee, was charged with disorderly conduct and abduction of a child.
He was known by his neighborhood for his unusual behavior.
Benjamin had recently moved into the area with family and had done weird things like stripping down to his underwear to perform yoga in his front yard.
He had also exhibited creepy behavior with the kids. He told them his name was Elijah and had mentioned topics such as murder and rape. In the complaint, a neighbor said the man “has exhibited weird behaviors such as jumping around in his front yard with his shirt off, sitting on his front porch and curb, all the while staring at the children, and going up and down the sidewalk with a soccer ball asking children to play.”
According to Kenosha News, Benjamin denies doing anything wrong. Court Commissioner David Berman referred to the man’s actions as “troubling” and set a $15,000 bond. Benjamin’s lawyer stated his client had a history of mental health problems, and family members additionally added that he hadn’t been taking his medication.
Now, Jada is being praised as a hero.
Neighbor Bernard Baynes told Fox6 Now:
“I’m proud of her. I’m happy with the other kid. I hope more communities can react like that; come together and be aware of what’s going on.”
Since being uploaded to YouTube, Jada’s heroic story has been viewed over 150,000 times. People seem to love that the neighborhood kids were smart enough to save the little girl:
“Brought tears to my eyes! Glad the kids reactions were the right ones!”
“Brave little girl that was sweet of her. good job. God bless her!!!”
“What a little angel. She is already a light in this scary world.”
Hear their story below!
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