2010-08-03 (3)

Girl's grandmother dies after saving her from kidnapper | ABC13 Houston | abc13.com - ABC13 Houston

Excerpt

"I never thought that he would actually shoot." Last Tuesday, 12-year-old Cassidy Blankenbaker and her 16-year-old brother, flew from San Diego to Amarillo. Their grandmother picked them up at the airport and on their way to an Oklahoma home, they stopped at a truck stop.

Monday, August 16, 2010

"I never thought that he would actually shoot." Last Tuesday, 12-year-old Cassidy Blankenbaker and her 16-year-old brother, flew from San Diego to Amarillo. Their grandmother picked them up at the airport and on their way to an Oklahoma home, they stopped at a truck stop.

"Yeah, just wanted to stop and get something to drink and go to the bathroom."

But inside that store, Cassidy says 58-year-old Gary Carner gave her a creepy smile. "It felt a little weird. He left and I just forget about it."

But Carner didn't leave. Police said he had a gun and was waiting to kidnap Cassidy as she walked out of the store. "He pulls right in front of us and just jumps out of the truck. He said 'get in my truck' and grabbed my arm."

Cassidy's grandmother, 63-year-old Sharrel Blackenburger, jumped between Carner and Cassidy.

"I remember him saying to my grandmother, 'do you want to die?' And I think she said no, I can't remember what he was saying. Then he just turned to her and shot her, and that moment it gave a chance to get my arm loose and start running."

Cassidy's grandmother died from that gunshot wound. Minutes before he attacked Cassidy, he tried to kidnap a 31-year-old woman from a different gas station.

An officer on scene says, "I don't know a lot of details but I know the woman was able to get away and call police."

After failing to kidnap that woman and Cassidy, Carner successfully snatched an 11-year-old girl.

"I remember a man running in and saying 'where's my daughter'?"

Carner threw that girl into his pickup truck and sped away. When police tracked him down, Carner was killed in a shootout. Within 30 minutes, police say Carner tried to kidnap three people and committed murder.

Cassidy now wear's her grandmother's wedding rings around her neck in honor of the woman who saved her life. "Just have part of her with me. She was a loving woman. She would do anything for you."