A 9-year-old girl’s heroic action may have saved her and her little brother’s lives after they were kidnapped outside a convenience store in Las Vegas.
FOX 5 reported that on October 24, the brave young girl walked back with her 11-month-old little brother to the 7-Eleven in North Las Vegas after they were abducted by 38-year-old Mario Estrada, who carjacked their mother as she used the ATM inside the store.
Karen Quinn recalled the horrifying incident to FOX 5, saying she had stopped at the 7-Eleven close to North Las Vegas Airport. She parked her vehicle outside the front of the convenience store and went inside to get cash. Quinn left the car on with the door clocked and the nine-year-old girl and baby boy inside.
She detailed that she and Estrada exchanged glances but that he was “bad in spirit.” The suspect had been sitting at a slot machine close to the entrance of the store. He left and went straight for the running vehicle, causing the worried mom to beeline after him. A 7-Eleven employee said the mother frantically started “screaming for her babies.”
“He opened the door, and I tried to grab him, and I grabbed his sweater in the door, and he reversed and kind of rolled over the top of my foot,” Quinn said. “And I was like, ‘Please, my kids are in the car! Please! My kids are in the car!’ He looked back at my daughter. She was like, ‘Mom! Mom!’”
“I was like, please just let them out. You can have the car. Just let them out, let them out!”
“I chased after the car until I couldn’t anymore,” the mom of five added.
Estrada drove off but later released the children on Decatur Street. Police chased down the suspect, and he crashed near I-15. He was reportedly driving with a suspended license. Estrada also took off on foot once the stolen car crashed.
Quinn also praised her daughter’s bravery.
“My daughter ran five blocks from the store with my 11-month baby, with no shoes on.”
Las Vegas police also told the worried mom they had located her children.
“‘We have your kids.’ And when he said that, I just fell to the ground. I was like, ‘Thank you, God, thank you, God, thank you.’”
The 38-year-old man was charged with two counts of first-degree child abuse or neglect, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, grand larceny of a motor vehicle, first-degree reckless driving and disregard of safety of persons and property, disobeying a peace officer, endangering persons and property and duty to stop at the scene of an accident.
Quinn’s grandmother, Irene Brown, created a GoFundMe for the woman so that she could replace her car. FOX 50 didn’t disclose whether the mother’s vehicle was insured. Brown also revealed that the hardworking mom’s children’s ages were 13, 12, 9, 5 and 11 months.
“My granddaughter Karen is a strong, hardworking, dedicated mother, and she is always there to help others. We are just trying to make sure she is ok until she can return to work sometime next month. Her employer advised that she is their best employee and will do what she can to help Karen in this situation, and her job will be available whenever she can return to work.”
Quinn’s grandmother continued, “She really needs another used vehicle, a car seat, and to be able to pay a few bills. Thank you all for reading Karen’s story, and we appreciate anything that will help her until she can get back on her feet again and return to work. Thank you all, and God Bless.”
She also called her 9-year-old great-granddaughter a “hero” and explained that despite the mom’s chronic medical condition– she did what she could to save her children.
“My 9yr old granddaughter is a hero for saving her baby brother. She unhooked him out his car seat and begged the man to let them out. He finally pulled over, and she jumped out on a dark street and carried her baby brother for five blocks to safety– back to the store. She said it was dark, but she just walked toward where she could see light.”
Brown added, “ My granddaughter has a kidney disease, FSGS Nephrotic Syndrome, and after running in fear, she is now having pain and nightmares telling her mother she did not want her or her brother to die. She has not left her mother’s side and has trouble sleeping. She will need counseling, and the other kids have been affected also. They are all so scared.”
