Two sanitation workers in Louisiana are being hailed as heroes for saving a 10-year-old girl who had been kidnapped by a sex offender. Jalisa Lasalle’s family had noticed she was missing around 1pm on Sunday. After s frantic search of the New Iberia neighborhood, someone reported that a girl matching Jalisa’s description was seen getting into a grey sedan. The police were contacted and an Amber Alert was issued that night around 11:45pm with details of a grey 2012 Nissan Altima.

A few hours later, sanitation workers Dion Merrick and Brandon Antoine were on their route Monday morning when they noticed a car matching the description of the one in the Amber Alert. The car was parked off in a field, about twenty miles away from where Jalisa went missing.

“I didn’t second guest it, I said for the car to be parked in this location, and it matches the description on the Amber Alert something’s not right,” Merrick shares with KATC.

The pair used their truck to block the road so the car couldn’t escape, and then they called 911. Within a matter of minutes, officers arrived and found Jalisa inside the car.

“When they grabbed the little girl out of the car, when the cop took the little girl out of the car, I am not exactly sure what she said, but it sounded like she said ‘I thank y’all’ and from there I just started crying,” Antoine says.

The responding officers commended the men for their quick thinking and action, knowing they saved the girl from unforetold horrors. 33-year-old Michael Sereal was apprehended at the car and taken into custody on charges of aggravated kidnapping and failing to register as a sex offender. He is being held without bond.

Merrick and Antoine work for Pelican Waste & Debris, and CEO of the company Roddie Matherne praised the heroic action of his employees:

“We couldn’t be prouder of Dion and Brandon. In fact, All of our Pelican Waste team have been heroically working without fail during the pandemic quietly, professionally, and consistently serving the communities where we collect garbage & debris. They often respond in other ways while on the road. This was an exceptional thing that may very well have saved a little girl’s [life].”

Merrick made a Facebook live video at the scene, which can be viewed below. There is some bad language, so viewer discretion is suggested:

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