Amber alert for two Amish girls

[RachelB]

No snark here, just concern:

 

A couple of Amish girls, a 12-year-old and a 6-year-old, are missing and are presumed to have been abducted from the roadside stand where they helped family in upstate New York:

 

http://www.localsyr.com/story/d/story/a ... s9NpKDgXtw

 

(not breaking the link, since it's a news site)

[RosyDaisy]

Dear Lord, please watch over these girls. Let them be safe and unharmed.

[16strong]

How awful! I hope they find them soon. I just can't imagine what their families are going through right now. :cry:

[PennySycamore]

There will be a news conference from the sheriff's office at 3 PM Eastern. It will be live streamed and you can see it here:

http://www.localsyr.com/story/d/story/3 ... pkXMCJJa3w

ETA: The news conference either hasn't started or is otherwise unavailable. I'll keep checking.

ETA update: Click on the button anyway. It says not available, but it does work.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

I hope there's a good outcome. This sort of thing makes me sick.

[BrownieMomma]

How worrisome. Hope they turn up safe and sound and very very soon. :(

[Tdoc72]

They were found alive! Not sure what happened yet, other than they were dropped off in a nearby town and were 'cold and wet'. They have been reunited with their family.

[16strong]

I am SO GLAD they have been found. I was worried that something truly awful had happened to them. Of course, we don't know what happened in the time they went missing, but the important thing right now is that they are back home with their families. I read that they were taken to a house and then ran away against their captors' orders. Good for them! Not all kids would know to do that or be brave enough to try.

[neuroticcat]

Looks like they escaped! Brave girls!

Glad they weren't indoctrinated to obey all men in authority.

http://www.wwnytv.com/news/local/BREAKI ... &smobile=y

[RachelB]

They were found alive! Not sure what happened yet, other than they were dropped off in a nearby town and were 'cold and wet'. They have been reunited with their family.

Such good news! I'm relieved to hear it.

[ILoveJellybeans]

Its always good when stories like this have a happy ending.

[Jana814]

That's the best news!! I'm so happy they escaped!

[Howl]

This is such lovely news. So glad they have been reunited with their families.

[RosyDaisy]

Thank you, Lord!

[NotALoserLikeYou]

They arrested a couple, too

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2726276/Father-three-girlfriend-intended-physically-harm-sexually-abuse-two-Amish-girls-snatched-roadside-stall-holding-captive-property-overnight.html

[It'sFunToRun]

They arrested a couple, too

dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2726276/Father-three-girlfriend-intended-physically-harm-sexually-abuse-two-Amish-girls-snatched-roadside-stall-holding-captive-property-overnight.html

This is bizarre! So the girls were abducted and brought to the kidnapper's house, not fed, still in their Amish clothes, somehow got wet (did it rain in NY?), then the kidnapper leaves, the two girls are not only brave enough to disobey and flee, but they knock on the door of the first house they see (go girls!). The person who lives there recognizes the girls because he once bought vegetables from their stand, and he saw on tv that they were missing. He feeds them watermelon and juice (not something more filling?) and instead of calling the police, he drives them home. That's a pretty weird reaction.

I can see from the kidnapper's POV how he thought he would pull it off no problem. There are no pictures of the victims, he probably thought it would take the Amish a long time to call the police, he definitely thought that the two girls would be obedient and not try to escape. It was a good plan. Thank G-d it didn't work!

[meda]

This is bizarre! So the girls were abducted and brought to the kidnapper's house, not fed, still in their Amish clothes, somehow got wet (did it rain in NY?), then the kidnapper leaves, the two girls are not only brave enough to disobey and flee, but they knock on the door of the first house they see (go girls!). The person who lives there recognizes the girls because he once bought vegetables from their stand, and he saw on tv that they were missing. He feeds them watermelon and juice (not something more filling?) and instead of calling the police, he drives them home. That's a pretty weird reaction.

I can see from the kidnapper's POV how he thought he would pull it off no problem. There are no pictures of the victims, he probably thought it would take the Amish a long time to call the police, he definitely thought that the two girls would be obedient and not try to escape. It was a good plan. Thank G-d it didn't work!

Actually, not that strange a reaction on the part of the people (it was a couple) who drove the girls home. This is a very, very, rural area, they are 70 miles from a hospital and 30 miles from a trooper barracks. the default setting for people in this area would be to just bring the girls home themselves. Faster than waiting for the police.

[Jana814]

Thanks so much for posting more information on this. I commend the neighbor for doing what he did. Can someone answer this for me. Did the girls not speak English.

[meda]

Actually, not that strange a reaction on the part of the people (it was a couple) who drove the girls home. This is a very, very, rural area, they are 70 miles from a hospital and 30 miles from a trooper barracks. the default setting for people in this area would be to just bring the girls home themselves. Faster than waiting for the police.

Also, the Amish in this area interact plenty with the "English". They are not so sheltered that a 12 year old would blindly obey a kidnapper. 12 year old Amish girls are selling their own crafts to tourists. In fact, that's how the girls were taken in the first place, they were working at their family's vegetable stand when they were snatched. The couple who abducted them chose the girls because they had seem them at the stand before.

[meda]

Thanks so much for posting more information on this. I commend the neighbor for doing what he did. Can someone answer this for me. Did the girls not speak English.

The 12 year old would speak some English. They are taught English in their schools.

[Jana814]

The 12 year old would speak some English. They are taught English in their schools.

Thanks for the info! I know they teach English in the schools. But I heard a couple stories that they didn't speak any.

[16strong]

http://news.yahoo.com/charges-couple-to ... 59167.html

:cry:

[It'sFunToRun]

http://news.yahoo.com/charges-couple-took-intended-hurt-amish-girls-050859167.html

:cry:

This says that the kidnappers set the girls free after 24 hours. How did they think they would not get caught?

[Toothfairy]

Why do the Amish forgive so easily?

[Jana814]

Why do the Amish forgive so easily?

I always wondered the same thing. I don't think I could do that.