Two sanitation workers in Louisiana have been hailed as heroes after rescuing a 10-year-old girl who had been kid-napped from a family member’s house. According to the New Iberia Po-lice Department, the girl, Jalisa Lasalle, went missing from a family member’s New Iberia residence between 1 and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Investigators first felt she was in “imminent dan-ger,” and an Amber Alert was issued in the middle of the night, describing a grey 2012 Nissan Altima that Jalisa was last seen getting into.
On Monday morning, Pelican Waste & Debris workers Dion Merrick and Brandon Antoine noticed a silver automobile in the middle of a field approximately 20 miles away in St. Martin Parish while on their garbage pickup route. “I had a feeling…” “What’s that automobile doing out in the middle of the field like that?” I inquired in a video broadcast on social network Live, Merrick remarked. They then utilized the garbage truck to stop the automobile from fleeing and contacted the cops, according to Merrick. He explained, “I walled the truck in, making sure he couldn’t get out.”
Merrick began to cry as a responding officer praised the guys for their conduct. “Right now, she’s secure,” Merrick remarked, adding that he had a daughter of his own. In a statement to ABC News and Pelican CEO Roddie Matherne commended his staff in an email, Matherne wrote, “We couldn’t be immensely proud of Dion and Brandon.” “In fact, throughout the epidemic, our whole Pelican Waste crew has been quietly, professionally, and continue servicing the neighborhoods where we collect waste and debris.” When they’re on the road, they frequently react in unexpected ways. This was a remarkable act that may have saved the life of a young child.
Officers can be seen carrying suspect Michael Sereal, 33, a-way from the silver automobile in the footage. He can be heard yelling, “Why are you doing this to me?” at one point. According to ABC Lafayette, Louisiana station KATC, he is a friend of one of the girl’s family members. According to online lock-up records, Sereal, of New Iberia, is now being detained without bond at the Iberia Parish lock-up on ac-cusations of agg-ravated kid-napping of a minor and failing to register as an s-x offender.
For a conviction of carnal knowledge of a juvenile, he is registered on the New Iberia s-x offender database. It is unknown if Sereal has hired a counsel medical personnel assessed the child after she was discovered, according to Louisiana State P-olice. Following the rescue, she posed with Merrick and Antoine in a photo released on the housekeeping company’s social media website. According to the p-olice, the investigation is still underway.
