Neighbor Saves 6-Year-Old Girl From Kidnapper

By Margaret Hartmann | August 18, 2011 | 3:23am

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A potential tragedy had a happy ending thanks to the heroism of Antonio Diaz Chacon, a 24-year-old mechanic and father of two young girls. On Monday afternoon in Albuquerque, Diaz Chacon saw a man pull a girl into his van as a neighbor yelled at him to let her go. Diaz Chacon immediately jumped in his black pickup and chased the van through several neighborhoods. At the edge of the desert the van crashed into a pole and the driver fled while Diaz Chacon rescued the girl.

Later police tracked down Phillip Garcia and charged him with kidnapping, child abuse, and tampering with evidence. They found packing tape, restraining straps, gloves, and Leatherman tool at the scene of the crime. Diaz Chacon spoke to the media in Spanish, with his wife translating into English. “The way he grabbed her and threw her into the van, I knew it wasn’t right,” he said, “I knew I had to catch him. I had to get the girl back from him and take her home, back where she belongs.”