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The alleged attempted kidnapping occurred in a Holtville parking lot. (Google Maps)
“We’re going to cooperate with ICE. We’re always going to cooperate with ICE,” Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin previously told Fox News Digital.
Knight remembers feeling fearful when the incident happened and says she did not know the suspect, wondering if he had been watching her family.
“We almost had to face one of the most horrific things a parent could possibly face.”
“When it happened, before I found out he was illegal, I was just worried about her,” Knight said. “It was a mix between thankfulness that she was OK and worry. OK, who is this person? We don’t know who he is. Is he going to come after her again? Is he going to come after our family? Is this just somebody who drove by? Or is it somebody who had been watching our family?”
But when she found out Melchor had been living in the United States illegally after previously being deported six times, Knight felt “angry.”
Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin said his office is going to cooperate with ICE. (Facebook)
“I’m an extremely compassionate person. But … I was beyond angry,” she explained. “There’s no amount of words of how angry I was. All I could think was how horrific it could have been, how horrible this is for other people who have experienced this. And like I stated before, it’s hard enough when it’s our own people we’re trying to take care of and help and get justice for or from. But when the possibilities are endless of who these people are, where they come from, it’s scary.”
Knight is thankful to local law enforcement and her community members that look out for each other.
“I’m thankful that I live in a community that supports one another. And I had someone there that noticed something was off and was willing to help,” she said. “I know if we would have lived in a larger community, that may not have been a possibility. But our people here in our community, we watch out for each other. We take care of each other. And I’m extremely thankful for that.”
Melchor has ties to San Antonio as well as Shelby County in Alabama. He was known to drive between those two areas visiting family, the sheriff said.
The suspect may face additional charges if authorities identify any other victims.
