CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – This may be one of the only times smoking cigarettes helped save a life.
A woman in Corpus Christi, Texas, out on her smoke break helped save a kidnapped boy she read about through an Amber Alert.
Courtney Best, who works at Papa Murphy’s Pizza, said she decided to take her smoke break in front of the store instead of the back in her usual spot.
That one change helped get a kidnapped boy safely back home with his family.
Best told KRIS-TV her gut told her something and she had to act.
“I stepped outside by the trashcan and I seen a white car pull up and I happened to, I just take my phone with me, because we don’t look at our phones at work and I looked down and I seen white Dodge Avenger Amber Alert. And I was like, nah that’s not him. The man was walking across the parking lot looking at me ‘cuz I was the only person out here. But the little boy, the little boy looked scared and I was like no, that’s not him.”
But it was him with the missing boy.
“Yes, my stomach started knotting up so I was like, I’m gonna go, I’m gonna check and see,” she said.
Best said she jumped into her car to discreetly check the suspect’s licence plate and sure enough, it was a match.
“And I’m on the phone with 911 and I tell her, ‘Look, the plates match up, he’s turning left on Staples but I’m gonna follow him.'”
Police were ready and arrested him.
The boy is now safe thanks to the woman’s incredible timing.
“That’s why I’m freaking, ‘cuz what are the odds, ya know? What are the odds of me looking at my phone, and I usually don’t even look at Amber Alerts, as bad as that sounds, I look at them and I don’t really pay attention, and I was like, he can’t get to Alice [Texas] in that little bit of time, but sure enough it was him.”
Officials said the suspect is expected to face charges in Jim Wells County.
Authorities have not said if there was a previous relationship between the victim and the suspect.