HOUSTON, TX - Back in 2001, an 11-year-old girl was kidnapped, but after making a series of quick decisions, she was able to outsmart her abductor and save her life.
It was May 2001 when convicted sex offender Gary Dale Cox snatched Leah Henry off the street near her home in Houston, Texas, and despite being bound and gagged for four days in a remote cabin near Kerrville, Texas, she was able to escape. The little girl freed one hand, allowing her to scribble notes describing her situation and photographing the cabin using a camera she had in her backpack, PEOPLE reported.
On May 4, 2001, Cox placed Henry in his car outside when a police officer named Sgt. David Billeiter pulled up to investigate a report of suspicious activity. Law enforcement officials had searched for Henry for three days using helicopters, cars, and dogs; they believed she was with Cox and being held in the rural Texas town, per an anonymous tip.
As Cox walked toward Henry's side of the car with his gun drawn, she bolted out to safety, CBS News reported. Shortly after the ordeal, Billeiter told PEOPLE, "Leah knew the danger, and she seized the opportunity." As police closed in on Cox, he fatally shot himself.
After being rescued, Henry was taken to the hospital to be checked out. At the time, Slidell Police Chief Ben Morris told reporters, "The main thing is this child is safe and the individual is dead. The perpetrator is in the hands of God, and hopefully (God) has washed his hands of him and put him where he belongs."
Authorities had been on the lookout for Cox after they grew suspicious that he had been responsible for two other, similar abductions: those of 11-year-old Lisa Bruno, who was abducted from near her suburban New Orleans home in April 2001, and nine-year-old Nykema Augustine, who was abducted in San Antonio in March 2001.
Both girls were held captive for days before being released. They each gave similar descriptions, which closely matched Cox. In a reunion filmed for Lifetime in 2015, Billeiter called the rescue a "divine appointment," saying, "If I had been a few minutes late, y'all could have passed me on the road and I never would have known, because he had changed the color of the car."
"You drove up at the perfect time, and you saved my life, Henry said."
It was May 2001 when convicted sex offender Gary Dale Cox snatched Leah Henry off the street near her home in Houston, Texas, and despite being bound and gagged for four days in a remote cabin near Kerrville, Texas, she was able to escape. The little girl freed one hand, allowing her to scribble notes describing her situation and photographing the cabin using a camera she had in her backpack, PEOPLE reported.
On May 4, 2001, Cox placed Henry in his car outside when a police officer named Sgt. David Billeiter pulled up to investigate a report of suspicious activity. Law enforcement officials had searched for Henry for three days using helicopters, cars, and dogs; they believed she was with Cox and being held in the rural Texas town, per an anonymous tip.
As Cox walked toward Henry's side of the car with his gun drawn, she bolted out to safety, CBS News reported. Shortly after the ordeal, Billeiter told PEOPLE, "Leah knew the danger, and she seized the opportunity." As police closed in on Cox, he fatally shot himself.
After being rescued, Henry was taken to the hospital to be checked out. At the time, Slidell Police Chief Ben Morris told reporters, "The main thing is this child is safe and the individual is dead. The perpetrator is in the hands of God, and hopefully (God) has washed his hands of him and put him where he belongs."
Authorities had been on the lookout for Cox after they grew suspicious that he had been responsible for two other, similar abductions: those of 11-year-old Lisa Bruno, who was abducted from near her suburban New Orleans home in April 2001, and nine-year-old Nykema Augustine, who was abducted in San Antonio in March 2001.
Both girls were held captive for days before being released. They each gave similar descriptions, which closely matched Cox. In a reunion filmed for Lifetime in 2015, Billeiter called the rescue a "divine appointment," saying, "If I had been a few minutes late, y'all could have passed me on the road and I never would have known, because he had changed the color of the car."
"You drove up at the perfect time, and you saved my life, Henry said."
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