Gas Station Clerk Saves Kidnapped Girl By Hiding Her In Bathroom, Keeping Captors Occupied Until Police Arrive

The quick thinking of one gas station clerk may have helped save a life.

According to Fox News, 24-year-old Savannah Pritchett was working her shift at Triple R Gas and Mini Mart and the day started out like her typical work day. But soon, Pritchett was approached by a woman who walked in, grabbed her hand, and asked the store clerk for help. Pritchett used quick thinking to hide the girl in a bathroom while she called the police. Luckily, her instincts kicked in at just the right time and she credits that for helping save the girl.

“Everything that happened, it was just instinct for me, like I knew that I had to keep her hidden.”

Pritchett led the woman to the bathroom, where she locked the door and gave her her cell phone just in case she needed it. It was later discovered that the woman was kidnapped by four teens who were also accused of sexually assaulting her. She told her captors that she needed to use the bathroom, so they obliged and stopped at the gas station so she could “relieve” herself.

While the kidnapping victim was in the store, Pritchett also locked the door to the gas station so the teen captors would not be able to get in and do further harm. Allegedly, 18-year-old Anthony Sandoval came to the door and claimed that he needed to be let in because he had a prosthetic foot and cancer. Pritchett would not let the men in and used an excuse to buy a little more time.

Instinct and a little white lie helps save a kidnaping and sexual assault victim. Savannah Pritchett, a Stanislaus County gas station cashier, says she hid the woman in a bathroom and when the kidnapers asked where she went, "I told them she told me she started her period." pic.twitter.com/By3b2B06Ff

— Kay Recede (@KayRecede) July 16, 2018

“They asked me, you know, ‘Why’d you lock the door?’ and I told them she told me she started her period.”

And when the teens noticed that the cops were coming, they begged Pritchett to let them in and take cover but she didn’t budge and refused to help the criminals. Three of the boys were arrested on the spot and one other teen was caught and arrested the following day. In a Facebook post from the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, they applauded the gas station clerk for her quick thinking.

“A Waterford gas station cashier is a true hero. Her bravery and quick-thinking saved a woman who was kidnapped and sexually assaulted. The victim showed up at the gas station, begging for help. The clerk stepped up, locked the doors, hid the woman and called our deputies. Two of the suspects were taken into custody at the scene and detectives were able to identify and arrest two other suspects in this case. When we work together, we can do great things in our community,” the post read.

According to iHeart, the suspects who were arrested are facing multiple charges for kidnapping, armed robbery, and sexual assault.

The teens also allegedly had ties to a local gang.