Melissa Torrez has a dramatic history with her car: It's the one she used to chase down a man who kidnapped her 4-year-old daughter in May. So when the car was stolen on July 23, the Albuquerque, New Mexico, mom took to Facebook to track down her Chrysler 300. The social media post of her missing car was shared by hundreds of family members and friends, and the next day, it was recovered by police.
The crime-fighting mom told KOB Eyewitness News 4 she was leaving a park with her friends when three men forced the group to give them their wallets and phones, and the key to her car. "One of them told us everything would be fine," she said. "I was like, 'How is everything fine if you have us at gunpoint?'"
The robbers took off in Torrez's Chrysler 300, but she wasn't going to let them get away so easily. Torrez logged in to Facebook and posted a photo of her car, tagging everyone she knew who lived in Albuquerque and within driving distance — from Santa Fe to Grants, New Mexico. She hoped someone would spot it. According to Enrique Venerio's Facebook page, who shared Torrez's post, her plan worked: Albuquerque police soon received a call about the whereabouts of the stolen car. Venerio, who helped her look for the car that night, told KOB that the car was found not too far from where it was stolen. "She was on empty," he said, "so they couldn't really drive that far."
Even though Torrez and her friends haven't recovered their wallets and phones, Torrez said she's grateful to have had help getting back her car. "That's what we need nowadays, you know, for people to look out for other people," she told KOB. (Neither Torrez, Venerio, or the Albuquerque Police Department have responded to Shine's request for an interview.)
It's no wonder she's attached to her Chrysler 300. In May, after a man snatched her daughter, Torrez jumped in that same car and chased down the suspected abductor for several miles, dangerously weaving in and out of Albuquerque traffic. According to KOAT, suspected kidnapper David Hernandez had, unbeknown to mom, pushed Torrez's daughter out of the car right after he grabbed her when he noticed neighbors screaming at him. He was arrested and charged with kidnapping and child abuse. Torrez told the Associated Press her "mother's instincts" had kicked in to find her daughter.
1 comment:
Kels calls it creepin....I call it information and news gathering:)). Give most any mom the Internet- social media- and a lil determination and we can crack most any case!
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