Man who helped officers says missing girl was chained to tree

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Investigators and the family of a 6-year-old girl abducted last night are thanking the community for her safe return home.

This morning, an Ogden man found himself suddenly in the middle of the rescue of the girl.

Jason Mehalko left his house this morning to go to work just like any other day. Mehalko says he was driving along River Road on his way to work when he was flagged down by a sheriff’s deputy who asked if he had bolt cutters in his work truck. Mehalko said he told the deputy he didn’t have any, but he did have a saw. He then ran with deputies into the woods where they found the girl tied to a tree with a thick chain and padlock.

“That’s when they were using my saw to cut her free,” Mehalko said. “She was laid down on her back and she looked calm perfectly calm not a tear in her eye.”

Mehalko says he was just in the right place at the right time with the right tool. He said he doesn’t want to be called a hero.

“The Sheriff’s department, the rescue, the FBI, everyone out there, they are the ones that rescued that little girl. God bless them,” Mehalko said. “All I had was a simple tool in the truck that I needed.”

Editor’s note: Previous versions of this story included the name of the girl involved, who was the subject of an Amber Alert. Due to the sex crime charges against her alleged abductor, WWAY has decided to remove her name and picture from our stories.