Charlotte Couple Honored for Response to Amber Alert
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Paul and Connie Dassance were honored Tuesday for responding to an Amber Alert just in time. Video by fox47news.com
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It was a multi-state Amber Alert for a 12-year-old girl in a white Chevy Impala that this couple spotted. Police say this girl is now safe in Kansas while the 20-year-old man she was with, Kenneth McGill awaits trial on federal charges.
Police say he took her from her home there, and they were headed back to his place in Canada, when the couple put up a road block.
The Dassance couple was on their way home from a shopping trip in Lansing when they heard the Amber Alert on the radio. A vehicle caught their eyes just 15 minutes later.
"We were a little shaky going through the process; an adrenaline rush is what it was," said Paul Dassance.
The couple matched it to the description using team work; Connie remembered it had an Ontario license plate, and Paul remembered the make and color of the car. When they saw a man who looked like 20-year-old Kenneth McGill driving, everything was confirmed in their minds.
"If that were a family member of ours, we would certainly want someone to make the call and not just drive by," explained Connie.
Without their call, police may have never tracked down and arrested McGill before he made it back over the border to Canada.
That's why the Dassances were honored with certificates by Michigan State Police and the FBI Tuesday morning for probably making the difference in the life or death of the little girl.
"They don't often end this way; statistically, about 80% end in death in the first day," said Lansing FBI's Rodney Charles.
"It makes us feel proud that we were a part of it," continued Connie.
It's a reason to celebrate and remind the public to never ignore an Amber Alert; even if you live in a rural community like the Dassances.
"You just never know who will stumble across the next future victim," said Michigan State Police Inspector Gene Adamczyk.
"Pay attention to them. It may make a difference in somebody's life," continued Paul.
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