9-year-old, Nyla Prentiss escapes her kidnapper and ran through the dark streets of North Las Vegas, with her baby brother in her arms.
Nyla’s mom, Karen Quinn had just left the car to use the ATM at a convenience store, leaving Nyla and her son, King, who is 11 months old, inside the car. Then, a suspicious looking man ran up to the car and attempted to unlock the door.
By this time, Karen had come out of the store and confronted the man verbally who was trying to break in to the car. Although the door of the car was locked, it became unlocked as the technology inside the car sensed the keys when she came closer.
The man immediately jumped in and hastily drove away with the kids inside. Leaving the helpless mother, panicking and desperate to get back her kids.
Explaining the situation inside the car with the strange man, Nyla said, she was unsure of what to do or say and dared not to do anything as she did not want to die and moreover, her baby brother was also inside, whom she had always taken care of and she would never let any harm come to him.
Nyla begged the man to let her go. “And I was like, ‘Please sir, let us out the car,’” said Nyla. The man then stopped the car and ordered her to get out.
“The only thing I was worried about was my little brother. And so I tried to grab my shoes, and he didn’t let me. He was like, ‘Here, get out.’ So I grabbed his binky and me and him ran.”
The terrified girl ran roughly five blocks, barefooted, in the dark street and back to the store where she last saw her mom. She injured her foot hitting a rock and her kidney also swelled from the pressure of carrying her brother, as she had a kidney disease.
Nyla was shaking and in tears when she finally reached the store. She was taken in by the store’s staff who gave her something to drink and made her sit.
Police officers arrived shortly at the store and Karen was reunited with her kids again. When she saw them, she fell to the floor and thanked God for keeping her children safe.
Traumatized by the terrifying, kidnapping attempt. Nyla is unable to sleep and is constantly being accompanied by her mom.
Meanwhile, the stolen car was found irreparably damaged. A GoFundMe page has been set up by Karen’s grandma to help the family. The family would likely need counselling and therapy to recover from the impacts they have had to their health by the event.
