CAROLINE COUNTY, Va. -- A truck driver is being credited for helping deputies safely recover a 5-year-old girl at a Caroline County gas station after an Amber Alert was issued for her in Pennsylvania.
Caroline County Lt. Travis Nutter said the truck driver, who is from New York, saw the Amber Alert for the girl on a highway warning sign when he was driving through Pennsylvania. When he got to the gas station on Route 207 in Virginia, he recognized the car description, saw the little girl and called 911.
The girl was allegedly abducted by her mother, Courtney Foulk. Pennsylvania authorities said she only has supervised visits with her little girl.
But when the child's grandmother went into a grocery store to grab a few things on Monday night, she returned to find the car, Foulk and her granddaughter missing.
That vigilant truck driver ended Foulk’s alleged run from the law.
“The child informed us that they were on their way to Florida, and that they were gonna live there from now on," Nutter said.
Deputies said Foulk had been in Caroline County for a good portion of Tuesday and seemed to have run out of money to travel any further.
"When deputies searched the car they were in, they were unable to locate any clothes for the child or the mother,” said Nutter. “There was no food, no money for the mother to be able to purchase food and that sort of thing."
Surveillance video from the Exxon station shows deputies taking Foulk into custody, and Nutter buying the little girl snacks to calm her nerves.
Foulk is awaiting extradition at Pamunkey Regional Jail.
The little girl will be returned to her grandmother.
Caroline County Sheriff Tony Lippa said he's proud of his deputies for making the arrest and recovering the girl safely. He's also impressed with the vigilance of the truck driver, saying it shows highway warning signs can work.
