Girl's Grandmother Dies After Saving Her From Kidnapper

Ramona Girl Cassidy Blankenbaker Escapes Kidnapping Attempt In Texas

SAN DIEGO -- A Ramona girl spoke to 10News about the recent family vacation that turned deadly and how she was able to escape unharmed.

Cassidy Blankenbaker, 12, wears the wedding ring that once belonged to her grandmother, Sharrel.

"It makes me feel I have part of her with me," said Cassidy.

A week ago, Sharrel Blankenbaker, Cassidy and two other grandchildren were heading to Blankenbaker's Oklahoma home when they stopped at a gas station in Amarillo, Texas.

"I got this weird feeling around him. It just felt odd. He was right next to us in the convenience store," said Cassidy.

Cassidy first saw the heavyset man in the store, and when they left the same man pulled out a gun and grabbed Cassidy's arm. He ordered Cassidy into his pickup truck, but the girl fought back.

"I kept saying, 'No, no, no' and he said, 'I'll shoot you,' and my grandma said, 'No, you won't,'" said Cassidy, the daughter of a sheriff's deputy.

Cassidy couldn't break free from the man, but her grandmother was not about to let her granddaughter be taken.

"My grandma tried to pull him off me, saying, 'Get off her.' He was pointing the gun at me and then pointed it at her and then he shot her," said Cassidy. "I just kept hearing my Grandma screaming, 'he shot me, he shot me, somebody help me.'"

Cassidy was able to run away.

"I was thinking about my dad at that point, and thinking I have to get away from him," she said.

Ironically, Cassidy's father is Sgt. Damon Blankenbaker with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. What he taught his daughter helped to save her life, but his own mother made the ultimate sacrifice.

Soon after, authorities said 58-year-old Gary Carner kidnapped an 11-year-old girl. Authorities caught up with him at another gas station, and they said when they pulled over the truck, Carner fired shots. Deputies shot and killed Carner during the shootout.

Sharrel Blankenbaker died from her gunshot wound.

"She is my hero. For me, that is an understatement," said Cassidy.

Cassidy said her grandmother's actions weren't surprising.

"She was not afraid of anything. She was the kind of woman who would do anything for anyone," said Cassidy.

Repeatedly touching her grandmother's ring during her interview with 10News, Cassidy said amid all the tears there is gratitude.

"She is so brave … that she did that for me. If she wasn't there, I wouldn't be there," said Cassidy.

Sharrell Blankenbaker's funeral was held last weekend, and Cassidy began her remarks with: "She was the woman I think everyone could be. She would be there for you no matter what."