thirteen-year-old Amy McNeil had her whole life ahead of her but when she was kidnapped on her way to school her future [Music] the first call her terrified parents made was to the FBI they hoped that the combined experience of agents and local law enforcement would flesh out the kidnappers took her life [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] wealth has its rewards but it also brings its dangers kidnapping is one of them no idea is more horrifying for a family than to have a child taken I'm Jim calstrom former head of the FBI's New York office kidnapping cases are among the most challenging for law enforcement who often must remain out of sight get close at hand ready to move in at a moment's notice [Music] about 20 miles south of Fort Worth Texas lies Alvarado a small town in rural Johnson County a few wealthy residents found Alvarado a safe haven away from the state's Urban centers [Music] the mcniels were among them they lived as one of the area's most prominent families partly from the return that Mr McNeil made by selling an early design of the handheld calculator at 7 15 a.m on Friday January 11 1985. they began their day having breakfast together as was their usual routine afterwards their teenage son would drive himself and his 13 year old sister Amy to school come on [Music] the way Amy and her brothers stopped to pick up their cousins as well he and his family lived in a separate house on the McNeil estate [Music] at about 7 45 they were finally on their way to class then from behind an abandoned truck a sedan pulled out across the road forcing the teenager's Jeep off to the side a gunman jumped out of the car and approached the Jeep he demanded that Amy get into the sedan the blond-haired man warned her brother not to contact the authorities he would call the family in a short while with his demands the distinctively the teenager started to get out to help his sister but the kidnappers threatened to kill him and his sister if he tried to follow him as they raced off of the 13 year old the teenagers couldn't make out the license plate in a matter of seconds the girl was gone they turned around and sped off the boys told the mcneils what had happened and repeated the kidnapper's warning not to contact the authorities I mean if you told the police that they'd kill her Mr McNeil ignored the demand and called the FBI field office in nearby Fort Worth give me the FBI former FBI special agent Clint Brown a 30-year veteran understood that when a kidnapping occurs every second counts I work many kidnapping cases and in not a single case did the subject get away with it the number one goal in all cases like this is the safe return of the victim all activities all actions are all geared toward not doing anything to endanger the safety of the person who's been kidnapped first task was to set up a recorder on the Family's phone by capturing the kidnapper's voice they hope to identify him or the place he was calling from the FBI also informed the local phone company to be prepared to trace any incoming calls agents instructed the father on how to handle the call he needed to insist on proof from the kidnappers that his daughter was still alive [Music] the fact that they had worn no disguises Disturbed former Johnson County Sheriff Eddie Boggs who called in the Texas Rangers moments after he arrived kidnappers hadn't tried to conceal who they were and all they just as we call it they just barefaced on just no Mass no disguise as anything that means there's not going to be a victim around tell who they are and what they look like they're going to kill him [Music] uncovering the kidnapper's identities might prevent that using an identity kit that included hundreds of facial features investigators worked with Amy's brother and cousin building a composite of the man who held the shotgun the teenagers had never seen the man with a stringy blonde hair before they also provided a description of the kidnapper's car it seems like the people who engage in this or people of uh questionable and limited mental capacity and very often they have I guess what you might say delusions based on drug use very often you know the need to get money to promote their drug habits or or what drives them and so we have that being a motive for the kidnappings very much and that certainly impairs their ability to think or plan or pull this off successfully at 10 A.M over two hours after Amy had been abducted the phone finally rang hello it was one of her kidnappers yeah so until I had your daughter the man demanded a hundred thousand dollar Ransom yeah half was to be in hundred dollar bills the other half in smaller denominations none of it could be sequenced as instructed Amy's father pleaded to speak to his daughter let me put the kidnapper refused her captor insisted Amy was still alive and that her father could speak to her when the man called back to say where to drop the ransom he added that if the family called the FBI they would never see Amy again [Music] the call lasted less than a minute not long enough to establish a trace for the technology of 1985. [Music] agents played back the recording listening for any background noise that might reveal the location they figured the call was likely made from a pay phone since they could hear wind and traffic noise Mark but they heard nothing more specific and no one in the family recognized The kidnapper's Voice though Amy's family was wealthy her father did not have a hundred thousand dollars in cash available since most of his assets were tied up in Investments he called his associates to fly in on chartered planes with whatever cash they were able to withdraw the next call they received was not the one retired Sheriff Eddie Boggs had hoped for the Press had learned of the kidnapping from one of McNeil's Neighbors I got a call from my chief deputy and he said that uh he has all sorts of media Representatives uh out there wanting a story they knew that there had been a kidnapping there had been a rational demand they demanded to talk to somebody about the story and if they were going to go on the air with it if the kidnappers discovered that law enforcement was involved they would likely dispose of Amy before the ransom was delivered everything investigators discussed what they should do next as precious minutes ticked by the FBI instructed the family and the Johnson County sheriff on how to proceed in the FBI said well here's what you do you have your Chief Deputy College one of the reporters in asking for his ID ask him who is the very top man at his station that he can talk to and then tell that top man we're not going to confirm whether or not you have a story but if you do have a story and you run it run it you could possibly Across the Life of a little girl every local press agency agreed not to run the story until notified by the sheriff foreign just before one o'clock in the afternoon the phone rang again hello it was the same man who had called earlier on a separate line an agent contacted the chief of security at the local phone company who was standing by hoping to trace the call yeah he trapped the number and began to track its origin yeah yeah Mr McNeil begged the kidnapper to let him hear his daughter's voice this time the man allowed the frightened girl to speak to her father [Music] her eyes concealed to prevent her from knowing where she was hurt me be my girl he could hear her crying despite his own he reassured Amy that everything would be okay and that you would soon be home that's when the man grabbed the phone the kidnapper said that he had not yet secured a location for the ransom to be dropped what do you mean you're having trouble getting a drop zone again he promised to call back later hello the room fell silent as former Texas Ranger Bill Gunn recalls it was very heart-rending to listen to it she was frightened and then of course Mr McNeil was frightened the conversation was very short Mr McNeil encouraged her to keep her upper lip up and remember who she was and that was at the end of the conversation they hope the trace would be successful the security Chief reported that the call had originated from outside the phone company's calling area and since the call had been terminated it would be impossible to trace it through the neighboring system the phone company was able to determine that the call was made from somewhere in the town of Kennedale 25 miles north of the McNeil's estate I think that's an interesting thing this one piece will make 52 layers watch on mobile devices or the big screen all for free no subscription or fire foreign but without a specific location investigators had little to go on no she's in Texas yeah we had no idea no evidence no weren't no leads nowhere to go the only thing we had was the description of a car uh I did have my troops what if you had to go out and start and a perimeter and expanding this perimeter checking every Farm every house every housing addition everywhere they could for a car that matched the description that we had Johnson County deputies fanned out over a 30-mile radius from Alvarado up to Kennedale searching for the kidnapper's car they also alerted other local officers to be on the lookout for the four-door sedan yet without a license plate it was not likely they'd locate the vehicle among the rural expanse almost six hours after 13 year old Amy McNeil had been abducted her father's friends from Texas and Arkansas had begun to arrive in Alvarado carrying tens of thousands in cash Texas Rangers escorted them from a small airport to a local bank where the currency would be processed before it was paid to the kidnappers wearing latex gloves ranges recorded and bundled the 100 000 Ransom assembled half of it in hundred dollar bills as the kidnapper had instructed another fifty thousand dollars was compiled from smaller denominations retired Texas Ranger Sergeant John dendy helped direct the processing they had quite a Time raising that amount of money on such short notice but after after they got the money then the Rangers that were at the bank started to getting clean bags to put it in other words no no fingerprints plastic bags and uh made copies of the bills so we'd have the serial numbers on each bill everything was loaded up and then all we had to do then was sit and wait until more demand came in the late afternoon deputies had located a car that fit the description of the kidnapper's vehicle parked 20 miles from the McNeil's estate a license plate check revealed that the sedan had been stolen the day before from Mesquite Texas 50 miles east of Alvarado inside deputies found no obvious signs of Amy or her abductors they impounded the car and continued to Canvas the area for Witnesses who may have seen the driver at the Johnson County Sheriff's Department the FBI processed the sedan for forensic evidence from the interior they removed several sets of fingerprints but without a suspect's prince to compare them to the recovered Prince could not help identify Amy's captors or their current whereabouts by 11 30 PM 16 hours after Amy had been taken her family had received three more phone calls but still had not been told where the ransom was to be dropped they hope this would be the call that could secure Amy's release hello it was the same man who had called earlier yeah once again the phone company initiated a trace yeah I'm working on it right now Amy's father told the kidnapper that he had the one hundred thousand dollars prepared as the man had requested no I don't want to do this tomorrow but the caller said that it was too late all right the ransom drop he had in mind was at least 200 miles away from Alvarado no by the time Mr McNeil reached the location it would be light too risky for the kidnapper to take a chance on being seen no Adam the father pleaded to make the exchange tonight well I can't wait till tomorrow the man refused he said he'd call back tomorrow to make the arrangements we didn't think they would uh let us have her back alive you know in good shape we we had no idea what they'd done to her in this period of time that they'd had her agents waited for word to see if the trace had been successful yeah uh what longer it did not once again the phone company had failed to secure the kidnapper's location foreign -year-old Amy McNeil would survive the night and eventually be reunited with her parents [Music] by 5 PM on Saturday January 12 1985. a day and a half had passed since 13 year old Amy McNeil had been kidnapped on her way to school in Alvarado Texas one of several unidentified kidnappers had called Amy's wealthy family seven times demanded one hundred thousand dollars in unsequenced currency but had not told the mcniels where to drop the ransom though the kidnapper had also warned Amy's family not to call the FBI Mr McNeil had done so and was joined by several agents a dozen Texas Rangers and the Johnson County Sheriff's Department the reductors had promised to call again at 5 PM with the location of the ransom exchange and to confirm that Amy remained unharmed despite the agonizing weight former special agent Clint Brown and his team wasted no time in preparing when the instructions were anticipated a plan was devised to deliver the ransom money with uh Mr McNeil driving the car and carrying the money himself for delivery so that anybody would see the car it was the limousine that he had they would assume he was in the car by himself actually concealed in the car would be two FBI agents the agents also outfitted Mr McNeil with a mini cassette device to record any conversations he may have with the kidnappers if they should approach his limousine [Music] the interior of the car would be wired as well and the two concealed agents would be heavily armed at 5 10 pm the kidnapper called again [Music] he told Mr McNeil to drive 40 miles alone in his limousine from Alvarado on Interstate 30 to East Dallas and take exit 51. there he would find a gas station the father was to be there by 7 PM in order to receive further instructions on the pay phone by the vending machine Mr McNeil spoke to Amy briefly before her abductor disconnected she was scared but unharmed the call was too brief to be traced all right as planned a contingent of FBI Texas Rangers and Johnson County Personnel would follow McNeil's car at a distance team would be fully equipped as retired Texas Ranger Bill Gunn remembers we got all of the assets available tracking devices aircraft we had a tracking device on Mr McNeil's car so that if we lost contact with it on the ground both aircraft could receive Amy's father promised his wife that he wouldn't come home without their daughter he was fitted with body armor and provided with a sidearm in the event the kidnappers attacked him the two agents with him would be armed with shotguns and semi-automatic pistols go check that out they check their radios to make sure they could be heard by the follow team you guys okay back here retired FBI special agent Rod kicklighter was assigned to ride in the limousine and advise the concerned father I recall one of our main instructions to him was not to let himself be taken hostage and we talked through that quite a bit he was to deliver the money and we would then take over try to affect the arrest but he was in no way to get involved himself McNeil got the go-ahead to leave for the gas station in East Dallas 40 miles away when the limo had reached about a mile the agent instructed the others to follow puts the kidnapper had provided a specific route to the Dallas gas station former Ranger Sergeant John dendy and the others feared that the kidnappers could be surveilling the limousine as it traveled [Music] we had no idea where they would be who they were what they were in or anything about them and in order for them not to become suspicious of any of us we kept a good distance behind behind the car as the stretch crossed county lines the Rangers radioed ahead to local authorities informed traffic patrols not to stop the speeding unmarked cars and provided license plates for their vehicles raced ahead to set up surveillance of the service station in East Dallas While most maintained and outside perimeter one team held a distant view of the pay phone they stood by ready to act in the event that the kidnappers revealed themselves or their 13 year old hostage [Music] reported that the limousine had just reached exit 51. the phone had begun ringing at exactly 7 PM when Amy's father rolled into the service station it was the eighth call he had received from his daughter's kidnappers over the past 34 hours the man did not give the Father the news he had hoped for he told Mr McNeil to take Interstate 20 East to Tyler Texas almost 100 miles from Dallas at the U.S 69 exit he would find another gas station where he'd receive another call at 9 20 on the pay phone outside for retired special agent Clint Brown it was difficult to predict what Amy's abductors might be planning we could tell the kidnappers were not very well organized they uh seemed somewhat L at ease confused some of their plans seem to change they didn't seem to have a clear idea of where the money was to be delivered and so it even appeared to be stalling at times trying to uh formulate a workable plan that they thought they could use so it did not appear that they had thought this out very well at all at the second gas station in Tyler Amy's father was directed to drive to a third one in Longview 40 miles further east by 11 pm resorted to drive 60 more miles north to a fourth gas station in Mount Pleasant Texas [Music] basically at midnight he'd receive another call at the Payphone outside by now investigators had covered over 180 miles traveling for well over five and a half hours they hadn't anticipated the long trip and two surveillance aircraft were forced to turn back to refuel in Dallas [Music] despite their frustrations the team was determined to Outlast the kidnappers we had no idea what they were going to do next they just kept running us over East Texas we saw a large portion of East Texas and we didn't know when it was going to stop but we knew that we were there for the duration was only getting worse [Music] gas station the limousine began losing power after racing at speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour for extended periods the engine simply quit agent kicked lighter fear with the mechanical problem would jeopardize any chance they may have still had to rescue the 13 year old that was loose we're all getting a little tense and excited and worried that we're not going to get to the drop side and that we're not going to be able to get Amy back miles away at the gas station in Mount Pleasant two camouflage Texas Ranger snipers have been deployed to surveil the Payphone [Music] Mr McNeil was the only one who could answer but he missed call at midnight on January 13 1985 just outside Mount Pleasant Texas FBI agents and the wealthy father of a kidnapped 13 year old girl worked frantically to repair a limousines engine Mr McNeil's limousine was the car his daughter's kidnappers he driving alone to a Mount Pleasant gas station pay phone by midnight as Mr McNeil tried to restart his car camouflage Texas Ranger snipers deployed to surveil the gas station watched helplessly as the phone began ringing Mr McNeil was the only one who could answer but he missed the call for the final location of the 100 000 Ransom Exchange [Music] patrolling the desolate roads around the gas station in Mount Pleasant the support team was informed that Mr McNeil had finally found his cars difficulty according to former FBI special agent Clint Brown the car that Mr McNeil was riding in began to develop the electrical problems apparently the alternator wasn't keeping the battery charged up and so as time went on the lights began to dim and he began to have trouble with the electrical system of the car the communications and tracking devices wired to the limo system had drained its power over the past seven hours disconnecting several instruments provided enough juice to get the engine started again so the headlights were inoperable the car would move forward Mr McNeil and the two agents pressed on without full power and limited visibility their path was lit by an aircraft overhead the remaining FBI agents Texas Rangers and Johnson County Personnel gathered at a separate Filling Station a short distance from where the kidnappers had planned to call they debated what to do next since Mr McNeil had missed the midnight appointment and they had no way of contacting the kidnappers with few options investigators decided to send the limousine to the Mount Pleasant gas station late figuring that the kidnappers would probably call again we were pretty well counting on the fact that they were going to show up or call that you know they were desperate for the money we reassured them we had the money and we certainly reassured and we wanted Amy back so we thought that they would stay stay connected to follow through with the payoff site at approximately 1 am Mr McNeil and the FBI agents arrived at the Mount Pleasant gas station in the troubled limousine almost eight hours and 200 miles after they had first departed Alvarado The Limousines engine gave out for good the vehicle wasn't going anywhere without major repair they could do nothing more but wait in the chilly night and pray that the kidnappers would contact them [Music] due to the fact that we had to drive very slowly in the limousine we were we were late getting to the drop site approximately an hour we were somewhat concerned about that but we set up to wait by the drop site Texas Rangers kept watch remaining hidden in the field across from the gas station the fate of 13 year old Amy McNeil remained unknown then at 1 15 in the morning the pay phone started ringing as investigators it's suspected one of the kidnappers called back eager to get the ransom he claimed that Amy was still alive but refused to let her speak worst still former Texas Ranger Bill Gunn and his team learned that the assailants had likely spotted the heavy presence of law enforcement on the desolate roads they started out telling him that he brought the police with him and they were very unhappy with that so they finally told him to bring the money to a motel in Mount Pleasant and at that time he informed man the kidnapper that he could not move the vehicle again it was dead and the man told him on the phone then they said well we're coming after the money and we've got plenty of guns and there better not be any police officers around the father remained Resolute despite his fear of what the kidnappers may have already done to his daughter he grabbed the ransom bag and stood outside to his daughter's captors could see him as they approached [Music] agents hidden in the limousine readied themselves for an armed confrontation retired special agent kicklighter realized a mistake now could cost lives the exchange of a ransom during a kidnapping is always the one of the most critical elements of the investigation in this case you don't want someone else to be hurt or taken hostage and be another victim of a kidnapping Wars passed in the cold January night the Rangers stayed alert protecting against an ambush on the road circling the gas station investigators saw no sign of vehicles approaching the ransom drop by three in the morning two hours after the kidnappers had caught it looked as if they weren't going to show tonight I think that's gonna happen yeah Texas Rangers Johnson County deputies and the FBI considered what their next move should be it was decided that they were not going to come and so the whole surveillance and uh monitoring situation was called off in anticipation we're going to have to start again the next day on Sunday agents in the limo received word of the decision to regroup until Daybreak Mr McNeil insisted they stay but investigators convinced him that at present there was nothing more they could do for his daughter if nothing else right Mr McNeil was upset that yet another night was going to pass without a resolution to getting his daughter back he had done everything that they had told him to do so there was a great deal of disappointment a car came by to pick up McNeil and the Agents [Music] they headed back to the nearby gas station where others had begun to assemble the two Rangers hiding in the field for the past three hours moved toward the street where the sheriff was to meet them in a separate van [Music] as they approached an unidentified vehicle cruised by their position it was filled with a group of men and a young girl who headed towards the interstate Buick southbound ranges called for units need somebody to pick them up as they watch those believed to be the kidnappers speed off into the cold Texas night at 3 45 a.m on January 13 1985. the Texas Rangers believed they had spotted the kidnappers of 13-year-old Amy McNeil racing away from the ransom drop point in Mount Pleasant Texas they alerted all available units in the area in route to collect the Rangers the Johnson County Sheriff heard their call and saw the suspicious vehicle on the highway he gave Chase but the sedan easily pulled away from the lumbering van that former Sheriff Eddie Boggs was driving my bam being as slow as it was they outran me like I was standing still there wasn't any way I could keep up in even with inside what was going on because that chase was going over 100 miles an hour and they were they were it was unbelievable despite his best efforts the sheriff lost the car and returned to the makeshift command post to provide a detailed account Amy's life was now an even greater Jeopardy since there was no question the kidnapper's new law enforcement was in the area then A call came in from the remaining area the pilot had spotted the vehicle and investigators still on the road and resumed The Chase former Texas Ranger Bill Gunn recalls that the suspects were speeding West on interstate 30. but that time the rest of us were had gotten involved and we were in pursuit of the vehicle and we continued at a high speed chase down interstate 30. which would have been a direction going toward Dallas and to a small community in another County 10 minutes later Texas Rangers Sheriff deputies and the FBI fell into line suspects refused to slow down as the lead Ranger began to close in he was fired upon shotgun and Pistol held at his car with rounds as he prepared to return fire he glimpsed two girls in the back seat one was young Amy McNeil who they were forcing into the back window the people who were responsible for this started firing guns at them out the back windows on each side of the Buick they would push Amy up into the back glass where they she could be seen and of course we couldn't return any fire [Music] [Applause] slugs pierced the carburetor forcing the ranger to stop [Applause] the chase continued at high speeds through three Texas counties before the suspects exited into the small town of Saltillo Texas looks like we're slowing down unexpectedly at about 4 a.m they stopped on the front lawn of a home and several fled on foot they opened fire on investigators two gunmen barricaded themselves behind a van parked in the driveway while a third disappeared behind the house none of the officers on the scene were wearing body armor when I first got out of the car I could see this man standing in front of the van now this is Sunday morning at four o'clock I mean no moons as far as I can remember and every time he pull off around with that 12 gauge hit line up for girl investigators took cover behind their vehicles and pinned the gunman down the suspect's abandoned Carr was in the direct line of fire Amy was trapped inside without any means of Escape when a salad attempted to break into the home of an elderly resident she took cover not knowing what was happening a few feet from where she had stopped firefight raged on investigators knew that they had to somehow get to Amy McNeil before it was too late 4 am on January 13 1985. the FBI Texas Rangers and Johnson County Sheriffs exchanged gunfire with the kidnappers of 13 year old Amy McNeil after being held for almost two days Amy remained trapped inside a captor's vehicle with a female assailant on the front lawn of a farmhouse in Saltillo Texas Ranger Sergeant John dendy was one of several who braved the hail of bullets I could see one of them behind the front wheel of the car and that's what I was mainly shooting in I didn't have any other place to go and the only thing I needed to do is just shut them down and the only way I'm going to do that is to hit one of them several miles away in another vehicle Amy's wealthy father was accompanied by the Johnson County sheriff and an FBI agent on their way to the scene they could do nothing more but hope and pray that the 13 year old would survive the battle we're here go ahead as the shooting continued a Johnson County Sheriff's deputy moved towards the suspect's cars Ranger Bill gunman calls one deputy sheriff ran from the vehicle that he arrived in over to the kidnapper's vehicle and she asked him if he was a police officer and he said yes ma'am and she just really grabbed hold of him then and hung on the deputy handed the frightened girl to a ranger who took her out of Harm's Way they ran back to the road where more backup arrived after 44 hours in captivity thirteen-year-old Amy McNeil was finally safe the ranger needed to contact the other investigators and to tell her father the good news retired FBI special agent Rod kicklighter was in the vehicle as the Rangers call came through it seemed like hours before we finally got the confirmation that Amy was safe I recall Mr McNeil I beat me about The Head and Shoulders about Amy being safe and they've got her and he was he was ecstatic as were we all fire Hold Your Fire well Amy was headed to meet her father the shooting had subsided the gunman had both been wounded investigators held their weapons on them not sure if the suspect still had ammunition Shadows third gunman realizing that escape was impossible he surrendered inside the kidnapper's car investigators cuffed the female suspect and a fourth man who would remain there during the shootout Rangers confirmed with Amy that all the kidnappers were now in custody going forward on a deserted highway a mile away Amy ran towards the waiting van that held Mr McNeil former special agent Clint Brown watched The Reunion between father and daughter everybody was pretty emotional you know we all had kids and daughters and such so we were pretty uh pretty emotional just watching that reunion and everyone was so happy that it had turned out so well that we all shared in that excitement and joy her being recovered safely no one but the suspects had been hit by gunfire both were ex-convicts and high on methamphetamine at the time of the shooting elderly Resident was also examined she had survived the ordeal with only frayed nerves [Music] a license plate check on the kidnapper's car revealed that it had been stolen in Dallas the day before investigators also figured out why the suspects had stopped their vehicle when they had we never could understand why they turned in at this particular house but we found out later they'd run out of gasoline 34 year old James Foote who had made the initial Ransom calls had previously worked for Mr McNeil and it hatched the plan to kidnap Amy for using a weapon in the commission of the crime he was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and attempted murder and was sentenced to life in prison 27 year old Michael Mills who had made the remaining calls was likewise convicted of aggravated kidnapping and attempted murder receiving life the other assailants 21-year-old Daniel neckar Jr and 21 year old Thomas Barnes were convicted of the same charges and also sentenced to life 18 year old woman who was with them was charged as the men were about you she had only met James foot a few days earlier before the kidnapping had occurred the woman was scared when the men brought the 13 year old into the house but stayed to prevent Amy from being abused by them Amy later confirmed that the 18 year old had protected her according to retired Johnson County Sheriff Eddie Boggs she was only given a 10-year probetty sentence per Amy's request female accomplice really didn't know what she was getting into at the time whenever she joined him because this they had already been using dope for several days steady before she got involved in it and it was just a uh she got involved something she couldn't get out of six months later on July 4th 1985 foot was transferred from the State Penitentiary to the Johnson County Jail to face additional charges authorities had traced the weapons he used in the kidnapping to the armed home invasion of a Dallas man foot was also indicted in Arlington where he had attempted to kidnap the child of a wealthy developer days before he took Amy outside in the blistering Texas summer the prison guard agreed to retrieve a water hose to cool down the inmates when he left foot climbed over the eight-foot fence we made it under the barbed wire seconds later the kidnapper disappeared into the nearby Woods that evening the Johnson County Sheriff faced the difficult task of informing Mr McNeil that his daughter's kidnapper escaped to where no one knew deputies would be stationed outside the McNeil home as long as foot remained at large fearing that the convict might seek Vengeance on the Family Mr McNeil immediately offered a reward for any information leading to foot's recapture a few days later A call came in to sheriff Boggs that seemed promising James Foote had a cousin that lived up close to Paris Texas that called in and said that he knew where he was and had been in contact with him and uh that cousin also had some criminal charges pending on him and was willing to make a deal okay guys been hiding in the cousins Paris Texas Home 170 miles Northwest of the prison access to the property Johnson County deputies prepared for the assault of the single-story dwelling over here this is your living room area they readied themselves for another armed confrontation as promised the cousin made certain that foot was inside at home for the arrest to take place Sheriff deputies captured foot without incident he was returned to prison where foot will spend the rest of his life at the state capitol in Austin Texas retired Ranger Sergeant John dendy was among those who received Commendation and recognition for the successful conclusion to the case going Austin talking to the governor get an accommodation the fact that I knew that I had had something to do with saving this beautiful little girl's life it was worth more than anything else they could do that made everything worthwhile all of 36 years that I spent in law enforcement that that was that was the top because law enforcement responded quickly and did not relent Amy McNeil was reunited with her family and friends thankful for the determined officers and agents who answered the call foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music]