Hero Saves Girl From Alleged Kidnapper By Pretending to Be Her Mom

Photo: Santa Ana Police Department.

A woman in Santa Ana, California is being hailed as a hero after saving a 12-year-old girl from a woman who allegedly attempted to kidnap her. 

Police say 12-year-old Amy Martinez was walking to school in Santa Ana, California Wednesday morning when a woman approached her and grabbed her in a one-handed hug. Martinez said she began screaming for help as the woman began dragging her down the street. 

"She told me in Spanish not to cry, but I wasn't even crying," Martinez told KTLA

That's when a good Samaritan noticed the struggling girl and moved to intervene. Cpl. Anthony Bertagna with the Santa Ana Police Department said the woman said she had only moments to come up with something to save the child. 

The good Samaritan, who didn't want her name released, told the suspect she was the child's mother and demanded she let her go. 

When the suspect released Martinez, the woman took the 12-year-old to Lathrop Intermediate school and called 911 to report the attempted kidnapping. 

Officers went to the area where the kidnapping was reported and found a suspect, 34-year-old Claudia Hernandez-Diaz, Bertagna said. She was booked into the Santa Ana City Jail on suspicion of kidnapping a child under the age of 14. 


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