Two Louisiana sanitation workers were praised for their quick thinking on Monday after helping police track down a 10-year-old girl who had been kidnapped, officials said.
Dion Merrick and Brandon Antoine were working on their usual garbage collection route on Monday morning when they noticed a silver sedan in the middle of a field in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, about 20 miles northeast of New Iberia. The car matched the description of an earlier Amber Alert.
Merrick said he called 911 and drove his garbage truck to block the vehicle until authorities arrived.
“I just saved that little girl’s life,” said Merrick on Facebook Live. “They’ve got it now.”
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The girl, Jalisa Lasalle, was reported missing from a family member’s home in New Iberia between 1 pm and 2 pm on Sunday afternoon, according to the New Iberia Police Department. She appeared to be unharmed, officials said. She was being evaluated by the medical team on Monday morning, according to reports.
Jalisa Lasalle, 10, disappeared from a family member’s home in New Iberia
(New Department of Iberian Police)
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Authorities arrested the suspect, Michael Sereal, 33, who was seen in a video being taken by police. At one point in the video, he would have been heard shouting, “Why are you doing this to me?”
Sereal is a registered sex offender, according to Iberia Parish’s records. He is facing charges of aggravated kidnapping of a child and fails to register as a sex offender, Lafayette’s KATC reported, citing arrest records.
Michael Sereal, 33, has been arrested and is accused of kidnapping Jalisa Lasalle
(Louisiana State Police)
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“Good job, sir,” a police officer was heard saying to Merrick and Antoine in the video. “Thanks for your help.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report