This weekend I had a long talk with the tenant who was kidnapped. (If you haven’t seen that story yet, please read it – otherwise the rest of this blog post won’t make any sense).
Here are some additional details about her case:
#1: One of my other tenants told me that she SWORE that on the night of the kidnapping, she heard a bloodcurdling female scream, followed by heavy footsteps that sounded like running.
But all of the information I’d received about the kidnapping was inconsistent with that. There was no talk of a scream or any running.
Those noises remained a mystery – until this weekend, when my tenant told me the more complete story.
Apparently, this tenant’s roommate – by coincidence – happened to step outside and witness her roommate being forced, at gunpoint, into the driver’s seat of her own car.
She screamed.
Then she witnessed her roommate start to drive away, with two gunmen in the car with her. She started chasing the car, on foot.
She had no idea what she’d do if she caught the car. She was simply reacting. Her roommate had just been kidnapped in front of her eyes, and she didn’t want to lose sight of the car.
The kidnapping victim saw her roommate chasing the car on foot, so she started driving very slowly. That’s when – as I reported in the previous blog post – the gunmen said, “I’ll kill you if you don’t drive faster.”
She sped up, until she lost sight of her roommate in the rearview mirror. That’s when the roommate sprinted back to the house to call 911.
#2: The tenant who was kidnapped is a returned Peace Corps volunteer who served in Nicaragua. The Peace Corps trained her in what to do in a variety of situations, including “What to do if you’re robbed at gunpoint” – and – “What to do if you’re forced into a car and kidnapped.”
She didn’t use that training in Nicaragua, but she needed it in Atlanta!
She reacted to her kidnappers in the manner in which she was trained. She didn’t consciously think, “Hmm, what did they teach me to do next?” – she simply responded in the way that felt most natural. In hindsight, the reaction that felt most natural is the reaction she was trained to show.
Lesson? Rehearse situations until they’re drilled into your sub-conscious. If you’re lucky, that preparation will be a waste of time. If you’re less lucky, that preparation might save your life.
#3: At the time I spoke with the kidnapping victim, she was returning from a meeting with a police sketch artist. The artist showed her dozens of possible shapes for jaw lines, cheek bones, lips, noses, foreheads, and helped her jog her memory.
By the time the sketch artist had finished the drawing, she said, “It was scary. The sketch looked dead-on accurate.”
“Did you know,” she added, “that there are only 19 sketch artists in the United States?”
There are a few in Florida and a few in California. The rest of the sketch artists cover entire regions. The sketch artist she met is tasked with covering all the crimes in Georgia and most of Alabama.
I tried to fact-check that data online, but I couldn’t find any information. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lumps “police sketch artist” together with all other types of artists (sculptors, print makers, painting restorers).
Lesson? If you’re looking for a job, there might be a need for more police sketch artists. ☺ Just sayin’.
Thanks to Gamma Man and Cheetah100 for the photos.
I’m glad she had that training for that situation! When I read your first post, I was surprised how calmly she reacted to the situation. I can’t say I would’ve done the same.
I’ve never heard that about sketch artists, and that would be a big surprise to me! I would think every big city has one.
Cop shows make it seem like every police station has a sketch artist on hand. That statistic was a surprise to me, but perhaps not so much considering the amount of skill required to be able to do what they do. I hope they get paid well!
@Wojo — I assume they’re paid well, given the scarcity! The sketch artist who worked with my tenant apparently commented that she’d love to retire, but she can’t find anyone to take her place!
I am glad it turned out okay! I can’t think of anything sacarier than facing someone with a gun. I am surprised too that sketch artists are not more common.
Glad she had the training she did. People don’t always get out of these situations unscathed. I worry about my friends constantly.
… but every TV show has sketch artists! Haha, I can definitely see sketch artists being a much rarer breed than what TV portrays.
That’s such a scary story. Please keep us updated on happenings at that rental house!
Holy moly, I hadn’t read that before. I’m glad everything turned out alright and that she handled it so beautifully. I wish I were better at art. I had no idea there were so few sketch artists.
It’s amazing that people are able to draw on their training in stressful situations. I like your advice to practice it until it feels natural — it could save your life someday!
Wow! I just saw this and the related post. I own a brownstone with a buddy in Boston that has 3 apartments and we got a call of a break-in once, but this is out of control! (Incidentally, our break-in call ended up being a lie so that our tenants could break the lease… or at least that’s what the cops told us… looong story.)
Thank God your tenant is OK.
@Nick — They reported a false crime to the police in order to break the lease?!?! Did they get into trouble with the cops (false reporting is against the law!)?
Still a fascinating story. I can’t believe that there are only 19 sketch artists in the US. I would have thought there were that many in the FBI or other federal agency. Hope they train some more before they all die off.
Cool thinking under pressure. Glad there was a positive ending.