Rocco Palese, the judge in the case, said at the sentencing, Mothers throughout the country will give a sigh of relief to know that a man of this type is safely in prison.. Humbert Humbert ends up luring his victim, Lolita, into the same universe of shadows. Sally Horner, age 11, kissed her . This is because the book in some way hints that it was all her fault. Janisch and her family moved on, and when they arrived in San Jose, Calif., Ruth wrote La Salle about job opportunities there. The room still contained two packed suitcases and a photograph that Ella had never seen: Sally on a swing, smiling uncertainly in a frilly dress, bobby socks and shiny patent-leather shoes. The man was known to the police as Frank La Salle. AP. In the summer of 1952, as Nabokov wrestled with his frustrating project, 15-year-old Sally and her friend Carol took a weekend trip to Wildwood on the Jersey Shore. Nabokov even referred to Sally by name in the novel. Its a long and detailed investigation where the similarities between Sally and Lolita are exposed. San Antonio FBI officials insisted the dead man was not positively identified, but other agents who provided his name said he was a registered sex offender from Montgomery County. In Britain and France, copies were seized by customs officers and the book was subsequently banned for two years. Just after midnight on Aug. 18, speeding along a dark two-lane highway, he plowed into the back of a broken-down truck. Leah's parents, Linda and Tim Henry, were then notified about her recovery and she was taken to a Kerrville hospital. He also told her that if she didnt want her mother to find out what she had done, she had to follow him. The woman was suspicious of the relationship between Horner and La Salle, and tried, to no avail, to get Horner to open up to her. The Kidnapping of the Heir to the Coors Beer Empire Shocked the Nation in 1960, The Long History of True Detective Magazines. His name was Frank La Salle, and he was no FBI agent rather, he was the sort G-men wanted to drive off the streets, though Sally didn't learn that until it was far too late. "We're going to go back to Houston and then get our life going again," he added. } Our skimmable newsletter is delivered to your inbox each week, giving you 5 things you need to read and get smarter. A full body orgasm at the L.A. Phil? A middle-aged man accosted Sally with the stolen notebook, telling her that he was an FBI agent. Her daughter was not on a nice beach vacation, but rather in the clutches of an ex-convict who had been released from prison only six months earlier for statutory rape. Without warning, the rules had changed: Sally had to go with him to Atlantic City the government insisted. The man told Horner that she had to convince her widowed mother that he was the father of two of her school friends, and that she was going on a beach vacation with him and his family. paul hebert wicked tuna daughter; dr scott becker; you dirty rat you killed my brother youtube; which of the following is a recent trend in grandparenting She left no diary or letters about the crime; nothing to feed readers prurient interest, but also nothing for a true crime writer to utilize. "The perpetrator is in hands of God and hopefully He has washed his hands of him and put him where he belongs.". He would take care of the rest with a phone call and a convincing appearance at the Camden bus depot. Whether youre shopping Way Day 2023 or Walmart, theres an al fresco set for you. This minor misdemeanour would change her life for ever. It wasnt until they landed in San Jose, California that a neighbor noticed something was off with the girl. Author Vladimir Nabokov undertook research of all kinds to write whats widely considered to be the most gripping and well-written study in perversion of the 20th century. He had been so charming when he called Ella on the phone to explain that he and his wife had plenty of room for Sally in their beachside apartment. She just wanted to call her family. For years, no one picked up on the fact that Sally Horner really was abducted by a man named Frank La Salle in 1948 and the crime was a definite influence on Nabokov in writing Lolita, not until Alexander Dolinin suggested it in 2005. All these details have been collected in the bookThe Real Lolita: the Kidnapping of Sally Horner andthe Novel that Scandalized the Worldby journalist Sarah Weinman. Sarah Weinman explores the connection in Hazlitt. Were she alive today, Sally Horner might have been encouraged to write a memoir of her abuse and escape, or perhaps a novel. Im with a lady friend in California. After threatening Sally with the reformatory, the man let her go. He told her the government wanted her to go with him to Atlantic City. Although its unknown what prompted La Salle to leave in such a rush, detectives told the press, He didnt even stop long enough to get his hat.. Next, read about the true story of the John Paul Getty III kidnapping. She'd have to convince her mother he was the father of two school friends, inviting her to a seashore vacation. But the unavoidable truth is that pedophilia plotline in the 1955 novel Lolita was not an original concept. Yet other than that single index card, there is nothing pertaining to Horner. It wasnt until they landed in San Jose, Calif. that a neighbor noticed something was off with the girl. La Salle was arrested, but he insisted he was the girls father and was married to Horners mother. Ella raised her daughter as a single parent after her husband committed suicide, along with her older half-sister, Susan Panaro (ne Swain, 19262012), who was pregnant at the time of her kidnapping. After she escaped La Salles clutches, she died just two years later in a car accident. They spent about two years traveling the country and visiting cities like Atlantic City, Baltimore, Dallas, and California. And its a claim undermined by the fact that we know so little about her: We dont know how she felt or how she understood her experience. At a press conference Friday morning, Linda Henry said she spoke with her daughter shortly after she arrived as headquarters. Weinman reproduces the letter in full: Vra Nabokov flatly states, It [the Horner kidnapping] did not inspire the book., Weinman sets out to correct this erasure and honor Sally Horner, the triple victim: snatched from her ordinary life by Frank La Salle, only for her life to be cut short by car accident, and then strip-mined to produce the bones of Lolita.. The chain of events that followed is more harrowing than the work of fiction because they are fact. A bizarre true crime case that captured the publics attention and inspired Vladimir Nabokov to pen his famous novel. "My heart is soaring.". One of these sources was the 1948 kidnapping case of the real Lolita: Sally Horner. Stacy Schiff, Vra Nabokovs biographer, cautioned Weinman against reading too much into the omission. I want to come home. "We hugged for a good five or 10 minutes," he said. The Real Lolita The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel That Scandalized the World by Sarah Weinman Ecco, 306 pp., $27.99. It was the last Ella would see of her daughter for nearly two years. The news spurred him to hit the road again. Her friends judgment was swift: It was wrong, and I ought to stop, Sally said later, I did stop, too. She began to rebuff La Salles advances. //. Then see what its like growing up inside the KKK. March 9, 2017 Updated: March 10, 2017 3:43 p.m. A Dickinson girl's dramatic 1990 abduction survival story will bring this Houston suburb into the spotlight as a "48 Hours" feature on CBS this . She must tell her parents that hes the father of a school friend and that hes invited her to accompany their family on a beach vacation. She's in there eating some pineapple pizza which no one else will eat," Henry said. Improve your knowledge with fun and interesting facts, trivia, history, viral content and brain teasers at DidYouKnowFacts.com. When La Salle returned from his errands, he was immediately taken into custody by authorities. All That Is Interesting [2], Over the course of 21 months, La Salle traveled through several U.S. states with Horner under various aliases, claiming to be the girl's father, and according to charges later brought against La Salle, it was during this period that he raped her repeatedly. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? But he found himself stymied by the plot of The Kingdom by the Sea. Several times, when her husband despaired of completing his story, he attempted to burn the manuscript and Vera had to rescue the typed pages from the flames. State of the Great Hall, on the side of the projection booth (photo: 2011). Sally Horner was 11 years old when a pedophile, Frank La Salle, kidnapped her. The young girl was relieved, but also terrified about how Frank La Salle would react. Nobody thought anything of that obsessive father who never lost sight of his daughter,except a guest at a hotel who was intrigued by Sallys sad and scared demeanor. He died in Trenton State Prison in 1966 at the age of 69. But the unavoidable truth is that pedophilia plotline in the 1955 novel Lolita was not an original concept. That seems like an overstatementhow many people have even heard her name?but its true that tales of girls like her, abused and abducted, have a lurid fascination. Weinman goes down two tracks: the story of how Nabokov came to write the novel and the story of Sallys kidnapping. The novel was adapted for the screen in 1962, with legendary director Stanley Kubrick behind the camera. His rap sheet of crimes included statutory rape and enticing a minor. You did great. In the spring of 1948, the bookish fifth-grader took a dare from a clique of popular girls in her class to shoplift an item from the local Woolworths. Fox admits 'damage' from partying may have led to Parkinson's, Met Gala red carpet 2023: Live updates of all the celebrity outfits, Katy Perry will be temporarily replaced on American Idol amid drama, Kelly Ripa posts Mark Consuelos PDA pic for 27th anniversary: Love of my life, Khristina Williams previews the New York Liberty's 2023 WNBA season, Perez Hilton: 'Boring' Meghan and Harry need to 'give up and move' back to UK. Officials wouldn't disclose who owns the cabin but said they believe it's the same site described by the kidnapped girls from San Antonio and Slidell. She denied it at first but finally admitted the truth. Frank La Salle died 16 years later in prison, the place from which he allegedly sent flowers to Sallys grave each week. "[12] La Salle sent a bouquet of flowers to the funeral from prison, which was not displayed at the wishes of Susan and Al Panaro. La Salle took her across the country, even enrolling her into school while telling the staff that she was his daughter. Thus began the two-year long kidnapping and serial molestation of 11-year-old Sally Horner. The consequences of sexual abuse in childhood, Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome in Adolescents, Feeling Uncomfortable When You Get Out of Bed in the Morning, How to Prevent Paternal Perinatal Depression, How to Recognize the Signals of Moral Disengagement, Episodic Future Thinking in the Treatment of Risky Behaviors. Just another site. romancing saga 3 character builds; SMOJ. A twisted version of the story played out in the novel Lolita, which later became a film starring Sue Lyon (left) and James Mason (in chair). In March 1949, prosecutors indicted La Salle in absentia for kidnapping, which carried a prison term of 30 to 35 years. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Though authorities would not state whether the girl was harmed physically, they said she was in good spirits, especially after being reunited with her family and being served her special request of pineapple pizza. (Constantin Joffe / Conde Nast via Getty Images), Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel, A hardcore coming-of-age novel nails the glitter and grime of L.A.s 80s metal scene, 10 books to add to your reading list this May, Aging beloved YA author Judy Blumes inevitable foil isnt so bad after all, Adult friendship is hard. On a dare from school friends, the 11-year-old Horner was determined to steal a five-cent notebook from Woolworths. [2][7] He told her that he was an FBI agent, and threatened to have her sent to a reform school unless she reported to him periodically. On her way home from school the next day, though, the man sought her out again. They both got on a bus and thats when it all started. It is the story of a girl made vulnerable by the social expectation that children defer to adults. But before they were 100 yards away Billeiter said he heard a single gunshot behind them. In reality, the man was Frank La Salle, a convicted rapist. Weinman counters that if art was to prevail and for the Nabokovs, it always did then explicitly revealing what lay behind the curtain of fiction in the form of a real-life case could shatter the illusion of total creative control.. Photos of Horner depict a girl whose sturdy, apple-cheeked good looks are a long way from the elusive beauty Humbert Humbert attributes to young Dolores Haze, one of those children who, to certain bewitched travelers, twice or many times older than they, reveal their true nature which is not human, but nymphic (that is, demoniac); and these chosen creatures I propose to designate as nymphets.. Houston FBI officials picked up Leah's parents from their homes early Friday and took them to the bureau office on T.C. Despite this, he denied that Lolita was inspired by the case. I am an FBI agent, and you are under arrest, he said. Suddenly, the driver exited his car with a revolver in his hand and, without pointing it at the officer, walked around the back of his car toward the passenger side, where the girl was seated. But while the girl thought shed caught a break, La Salle was slyly investigating which school she attended. function MM_openBrWindow(theURL,winName,features) { //v1.2 And even James Mason regretted accepting the part. Watching that emotional encounter was all the reward he could ever wish for, Billeiter said. To order a copy for 14.61 (RRP 16.99) go to guardianbookshop.com or call 0330 333 6846. More than six hours after the man's suicide, crime scene technicians still hadn't entered the cabin, Beverly said, but "it's going to be a very detailed, methodic search that takes place out there, with an eye towards not only gathering the evidence but to identify if he had co-conspirators or if there were other victims in other parts of the country.". An All Thats Interesting writer since 2013, Erin Kelly focuses on historic places, natural wonders, environmental issues, and the world of science. We even have a television show devoted to them: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, about to start its 20th season. John W. Gonzalez is a reporter with the San Antonio Express-News. Of course, most child molesters are not suave, erudite, and handsome (any more than serial killers are opera-loving Ph.D.s engaging in cat-and-mouse games with brilliant detectives). frank la salle kidnappergeorgia foraging laws. This story has been shared 411,278 times. If I went back home, or they sent for me, or I ran away, Id go to prison, Sally eventually told investigators. The girl burst into tears, and he seemed to soften. Weinman is clear: she does not want to diminish the achievement of Lolita but rather to augment the horror he also captured in the novel. Sally Horner (far left) was met by her mother on the day she returned home after her kidnapping ordeal. If the scenario sounds familiar, it should. He waived his right to a lawyer and pleaded guilty to all charges. So the next stop for Horner and La Salle was San Jose, California. Even in newer versions of Lolita, editors try to avoid showing the teenagers shameless side. He composed Lolita during these trips. But you knew something was wrong.. Despite never having seen or even heard of the Warners, Ella Horner agreed. A middle-aged man accosted Sally with the stolen notebook, telling her that he was an FBI agent. A story that, unfortunately, was very real. David Billeiter. She cooked their meals and sometimes baked. When Billeiter arrived at the scene, the man and girl were in a car similar to one linked by the earlier kidnapping victims. That five-cent notebook didn't just alter . One of these sources was the 1948 kidnapping case of the "real" Lolita: Sally Horner. FBI agent Rod Beverly of San Antonio said the suspect is likely to be linked by physical evidence to several more abductions. Sally must accompany him to Atlantic City, on orders of the government. On March 21, when La Salle left to seek work, Janisch invited the girl over. Thats when Sally Horners mother learned the terrible truth. Weinman interviews school friends, but after seven decades their memories only give us so much. Louisiana and 1 other state had the highest population of Lasalle families in 1840. The deputy grabbed the girl, put her in the patrol car and quickly left the scene. La Salle telephoned, pretended to be Frank Warner, the father of Sallys school friend, and persuaded Ella Horner to allow Sally to accompany him and his wife and children on holiday. The police didnt take long to get there. The Disturbing Kidnapping And Captivity Of Sally Horner, Who Likely Inspired Lolita. Hands book Curious Toys, a historical novel featuring Henry Darger, is coming from Mulholland Books next year. The two took an apartment in a three-story brick row house. Its true, too, that our culture deals awkwardly with sexuality and adolescencea weak point that Nabokov targeted perfectly. In the 1950s, rape victims bore a badge of shame. An English translation of Volshebnik was published in 1985 as The Enchanter. Cox was paroled in 1998, imprisoned in 1999 for a few weeks for keeping pornography on his home computer, and released in February 2000 to a Houston halfway house, which he fled a month later. Then see what its like growing up inside the KKK. In Slidell, La., where 11-year-old Lisa Bruno was lured from outside her home in April, police officials were elated at Friday's news. "David, you're my friend for life. La Salle (surname) La Salle or Lassalle is a surname. The girl was shocked and told Horner that the relationship was wrong and that she should put an end to it. The formerly white car recently had been painted red, causing Billeiter initially to think it was a false alarm. Send the FBI after me, please! the girl shouted over the cross-country static. double door tailgate guard; cups payment services alberta; what did kabuto show madara in the coffin; goofy and pluto were conjoined twins; 4100 yonge street suite 110b Log into your account. Thus began the two-year long kidnapping and serial molestation of 11-year-old Sally Horner. The contents of Exploring Your Mind are for informational and educational purposes only. "At that time, he left the driver's side door open. She stated that though her real father died when she was six, she still remembered him and he was not this man. Reviewed and approved by the psychologist Valeria Sabater. This dark and very tragic story inspired Vladimir Nabokov to write one of the most famous literature novels of all times:Lolita(1955). She spent nearly two years as his captive, living in different places around the country. He spun a web of lies about the law to frighten her, and the naive girl had no reason to doubt his supposed authority. The main character lacks Humbert Humberts seductive, first-person narrative voice that can captivate readers, making them complicit in his crimes. [Becoming architecture] Paris, renovation works of the Louxor cinema. What Horners mother couldnt have known was that she was sending her daughter on vacation with a 50-year-old mechanic with a rampant pedophilia problem. Sexual abuse of children takes place when there is sexual contact, with or without consent, between an adult and a minor. Now, two books the novel Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood (St. Martins, out Tuesday) and the non-fiction The Real Lolita (Ecco, Sept. 11) by Sarah Weinman look at how Sallys kidnapping, exploitation and early death provided the raw materials for Nabokov to complete a novel that had bedeviled him for a decade. Nabokov was notably dismissive of such investigative efforts on the part of journalists or readers. His wife, Vera, would type these into manuscript form before he burned the notes. When police got to the apartment in Atlantic City, Horner and La Salle were long gone. "The main thing is this child is safe and the individual is dead," Slidell police Chief Ben Morris said. Nabokov creates this name and numerous habitations as Humbert abducts Dolores Haze and takes her on a cross-country journey that mirrors that of Frank La Salle and Sally Horner. These are interwoven with chapters that scrutinize the long, slow-burning fuse that ultimately detonated Lolita.. The most Lasalle families were found in USA in 1920. There are obvious similaritiesthe novels narrator, Humbert Humbert, takes 12-year-old Dolores around the country. La Salle was arrested and charged under the Mann Act of 1910; a law against human trafficking. But the damage was done. Horner was a 5th grade student at Northeast Elementary School, where she was noted as an honors student.[3][4]. He doesnt fit our image of a child molester (and looks nothing like Frank La Salle, to judge from the mug shots). That five-cent notebook didn't just alter Sally Horner's own life, though: it reverberated throughout the culture, and in the process, irrevocably changed the course of 20th-century literature. Sally had just stolen a 5-cent notebook from a store because her friends told her it was the only way theyd let her join their group. The way we commodify young girls bodies, our social veneration of virginityand the notion that if a child is not a virgin its less of a crime to rape herall this is in the pages of Nabokovs novel. The awful ordeal that young Sally Horner endured began on June 13, 1948, in Camden, New Jersey. The label is located in Corona, California. Janish told Horner to call her family. They expect to have a match today. Cox, who once lived in northern suburbs of Houston, has been in and out of the judicial system for years. He held her captive for 21 months until she managed to escape and call her family. Ive been afraid to call before. La Salle spent the rest of his life in prison. Sallys story, which parallels his heroines throughout the second half of the book, helped him to transform a partial manuscript primed for failure into a 50-million-copy best-seller, Weinman writes. Horner made the call to her mother and left town with the man. A scar sliced his cheek by the right side of his nose, while his shirt collar shrouded another mark on his throat. fanatics size chart youth SU,F's Musings from the Interweb. It is strange, the morbid inclination we have to derive satisfaction from the fact (generally false and always irrelevant) that a work of art is traceable to a true story. Is it because we begin to respect ourselves more when we learn that the writer, just like ourselves, was not clever enough to make up a story himself?. // But Henry saved his biggest "thank you" for the heroic deputy. He compared incidents in the novel with those from the real case (gleaned from newspaper reports), and concluded that the two parallel each other much too closely to be coincidental., Alan Levin, a writer for the New York Post, read the Nugget story and wrote to Nabokov, asking about Horners kidnapping. La Salle was found guilty and sentenced to 30 to 35 years at Trenton State Prison in New Jersey. icing store metrotown. As Sally, described by a teacher as a perfectly lovely girl, was leaving the store, a slender, hawk-faced man with cold, blue-grey eyes and a scar on his cheek grabbed her by the arm. LOU ISE ATTAQUE * PIXIES * LARRIN POE * MANSET cl cl) den pe, ER) 14 } = A ji (tn ND) LL" KL {l ag, ROLLINO STONE INTERVIEW Jean-Michel Jarre L'empire cesse e a Ruth Janish told La Salle that they had even reserved a spot right next to theirs in their new trailer park in San Jose. The Lasalle family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. Tragically, only two years after her terrible ordeal ended, Sally Horner was killed in a car accident on August 18, 1952, in New Jersey at the age of 15. The awful ordeal that young Sally Horner endured began on June 13, 1948, in Camden, New Jersey. It is possible for teenagers who have consensual sex before the age of legal consent (which varies by state from 16 to 18) to end up permanently on the sex-offender registry. He let her go, but not for long. Her work has also been featured in Smithsonian and shes designed several book covers in her career as a graphic artist. She stated that though her real father died when she was six, she still remembered him and he was not this man. 29 Color Found Snaps of Chicago in the 1960s, Vintage Christmas Mens Fashion Ads of the 1950s. International News / Courtesy of Sarah Weinman, Nabokov Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Pence blames Biden for bank busts and blasts bailouts, Philippines-US alliance moves past Duterte dysfunction, As in 2008, financial stability depends on Jamie Dimon bailing out big, bad banks, US military tracking another aerial object, Crenshaw dubs TikTok 'ultimate psychological warfare weapon,' signals support for absolute ban, McCarthy takes jab at Biden administration in address to Israeli Knesset, Trump lawyers ask for mistrial in E Jean Carroll defamation and battery case. Lolitais recognized as a masterwork of 20th-century fiction. But while the girl thought shed caught a break, La Salle was slyly investigating which school she attended. In early March, 1950, when Janisch and her husband moved to San Jose, California, in search of work, with her asking La Salle to do the same, in hopes that she could keep in contact with Horner. The first step is to confirm through fingerprints that the man who killed himself Cox. She kind of had her head down and she saw her older sister, her mother and myself. We begin to accept Humberts self-justifications and hate ourselves for it. La Salle followed her until he finally got the chance to satisfy his desiresonce more. La Salle was arrested and charged under the Mann Act of 1910; a law against human trafficking. As the novel nears its end, narrator Humbert Humbert asks himself: Had I done to Dolly, perhaps, what Frank La Salle, a 50-year-old mechanic, had done to 11-year-old Sally Horner in 1948?. Some school friends convinced the 11-year-old girl to steal a notebook (worth about a nickel at the time) from the local Woolworths in her town of Camden, N.J. He told Sally that an FBI agent like him had a responsibility to send young thieves to the reformatory. Today we would have an interview on 60 Minutes and commentary from psychologists about her condition. Horner gave testimony that he held her captive and forced her to have sex with him. They seemed happy and entirely devoted to each other, one neighbor said to investigators. What Horners mother couldnt have known was that she was sending her daughter on vacation with a 50-year-old mechanic with a rampant pedophilia problem. We see Nabokov juggling teaching, writing, and driving around the United States to catch butterflies. Weinman argues that Sally Horners fate has echoed through our culture. Florence Sally Horner (April 18, 1937 - August 18, 1952) was an American girl who, at the age of 11, was abducted by serial child molester Frank La Salle in June, 1948 and held captive for 21 months before being rescued in March, 1950. 5 minutes. Janish and her husband left for California in March 1950 and Ruth began to hatch a plan. The car also had been stripped of most of its Mazda markings. Witnesses offer conflicting accounts, How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, Mars Voltas lead singer broke with Scientology and reunited with the band. Some school friends convinced the 11-year-old girl to steal a notebook (worth about a nickel at the time) from the local Woolworths in her town of Camden, N.J. Select from the 0 categories from which you would like to receive articles. But there are flashes of the sinister beauty that illuminate the darkest moments in Lolita, and events (like the death in a car accident of The Enchanters protagonist) that prefigure central scenes in Nabokovs masterpiece. Only three days after arriving in San Jose, on March 21, 1950, Sally Horners nightmare ended. There was also controversy surrounding Stanley Kubriks film. Her mothers phone line had been disconnected, but Horner called her sister Susans house. Sally said he was the father of a school friend who had invited her to join their family at the Jersey Shore. An eight-state police search began Aug. 5, and the photo of the girl on the swing appeared in papers nationwide. In reality, the man was Frank La Salle, a convicted rapist. Our mission is to get Southern California reading and talking. His battles with the church arent over, 17 SoCal hiking trails that are blooming with wildflowers (but probably not for long! Photo Credit: flickr, The U.S. National Archives. Just like any other girl her age, she was fearless, trustful, and very naive. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. At about the same time, Sally is being hauled from one part of the country to another by La Salle. At a press conference Friday afternoon, Tim Henry praised the numerous law enforcement agencies involved in the search, including the FBI, Texas Rangers and various sheriff's and police departments along I-10, a common thread among the known abductions. He let her go, but not for long. KERRVILLE -- Leah Henry, an 11-year-old girl kidnapped in Houston four days ago, was hailed for her quick thinking and bravery when she escaped from her captor Friday into the arms of a sheriff's deputy moments before the suspect took his own life.