EMPIRE, Ohio — Security cameras captured footage of a young girl being taken from her grandparents' home on Midway Street in Empire, Ohio, a small town along the Ohio River on the West Virginia border, which prompted a statewide Amber Alert Monday. The end of the pursuit resulted in the death of the young girl's father.
Barb Glessner and John Hartline are neighbors with Susie, the girl's grandmother, who lives across the street from them, and they have enjoyed watching her granddaughter grow.
"It seems like only yesterday she was a baby, so look at her now. She is such a pretty little girl and so active when she's outside. I think she's seven now," Glessner said.
"She brings the little girl up here early, gets her on and off the bus. Her mother picks her up after work. So, Susie spends a lot of time with her," said Hartline.
On Monday, security cameras at Hartline's home captured footage involving the young girl. The girl's father, Charles Alexander, can be seen trying to take his daughter from her grandparents, struggling with the grandmother and knocking her over. The struggle continued down the street, outside neighbor Fancy Kitchen's house.
"Next thing you know, he pulls up behind them, gets out, and he grabs the little girl, and he throws her in the passenger seat. You could tell she was scared," Kitchen said.
Kitchen continued, "The grandmother, the grandfather, and the grandfather's brother were all here trying to hold him back from getting in the truck."
"His wife tried to get in the passenger seat to grab her and that's when he gunned it backward, he hit this tree, and they all went tumbling," said Kitchen.
In the ruckus, Kitchen said a woman was knocked to the ground and hit her head, requiring a hospital visit and staples.
"He took off that way and that's when we all lost him because of course, people are hurt, so now we're trying to get to them," Kitchen explained.
After many neighbors had witnessed the girl snatched, they gathered together in anticipation, praying she would be returned home safely.
"I asked her grandmother, I said 'Are you holding up?' She said 'No.' And I gave her a hug and I said, 'If you need anything, you just let us know we'll try and help you.' Her family was around her, and her daughter was sitting in the chair there and you could tell they were both so upset it wasn't funny," Glessner said.
"They figured that he was either going to Cleveland or Pittsburgh because I guess he works in Cleveland, lives in Cleveland," Kitchen said.
The statewide Amber Alert lasted hours. Alexander made multiple threats to harm his young daughter while on the phone with 911 dispatchers.
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Alexander took police on a slow-speed chase in a stolen U-Haul, even hitting a Brunswick Police cruiser.
During the rescue of the child, Alexander was shot and killed by an Ohio State Police sharpshooter in a fast-food parking lot near Medina.
"Once we heard that the little girl was rescued and saved I thanked the Lord that she was taken care of and she was alright," Glessner said.
Now, the tight-knit neighborhood is focused on supporting each other, especially the girl and her family, as they move forward
"Especially on her birthday, it's supposed to be a special day and she's supposed to be able to enjoy it...but to have that nightmare happen. It makes me wonder if every year on her birthday now she's going to remember the bad times instead of the good. So hopefully, the family can help her get through the bad times to where they can get to the good times," Kitchen said.
