Girl, 8, Found Buried Alive in Trash Bin

[Martrae]

May 23, 8:52 AM (ET)

LAKE WORTH, Fla. (AP) - Police won a race against time when an officer searching a landfill found a missing 8-year-old girl buried under rocks in a trash bin, authorities said. The officer who found her hailed her Monday as "a true hero."

The girl had been staying overnight at her godmother's house when she was reported missing early Sunday and an Amber Alert was issued, police said. A teen who had been staying in the home was arrested, and the girl was in good condition at a hospital.

Police Sgt. Mike Hall was scouring the landfill for the child when he looked inside the trash bin and saw a yellow recycling container. When he opened the lid, he saw a foot and a hand and feared for the worst, Hall told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday.

He said he summoned a fellow officer "and he shouted out, you know, her finger is moving. And at that point the expression on everybody's face just changed. I mean, it went from a hopeless scene to there's hope there now."

There must have been air pockets that allowed the girl to breathe, Hall said, calling her a "true hero."

"For her to endure what she did and live for more than seven hours in the recycling bin says a lot for her," Hall told ABC.

The girl had been sexually assaulted, authorities said.

Milagro Cunningham, 17, was charged with attempted murder, sexual battery on a child under 12, and false imprisonment of a victim under 13 years old, police said. He was in custody for an initial court appearance scheduled Monday.

The teen initially told investigators that the girl may have been abducted by several men in a station wagon. He also said he followed them but they got away. The teen later confessed and was charged as an adult, authorities said.

Authorities said Cunningham was identified by the girl and had lived at godmother Lisa Taylor's house for about four months.

The girl's mother told The Palm Beach Post: "If I could put my hand around his neck, he would be dead. ... He left my daughter to die."

In the hospital, the girl told Taylor, "I was laying there waiting. I knew you were coming," the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.

Authorities said the weight of the rubble would have made it impossible for her to dig her way out, and she was far enough from any homes that no one may have heard if she cried out.

"When a child is abducted and abandoned like this, the critical thing is time," Police Chief William Smith said. "That we found this child alive is a miracle."

The girl spends occasional weekends with Taylor when her mother works.

Cunningham had been sleeping on the living room couch after being thrown out by his aunt, a neighbor, for allegedly stealing from her home. He has a relatively minor criminal record and was on probation for throwing a rock through a car window, authorities said.

Taylor was asleep when the girl vanished. The girl's disappearance was discovered when Taylor's two teenage daughters came home after a night of roller-skating, authorities said.

A half hour later, Cunningham knocked on the door and the sisters found him lying on the ground. His shirt was torn and his clothes were covered with dirt. He told of the girl being taken away in the station wagon.

However, Taylor said, "The story got crisscrossed."





Simply amazing that she was still alive. WTF is up with all this stuff happening in FL?

[veeneedefeesh]

It's stories like this that make me think that the Apocolypse is about three weeks too late

[Ganzo]

This is one of those times when we could save taxpayers a millions of dollars by shooting him in the head after he confessed.

[Wrath Child]

This is also the most perfect of examples why the death penalty needs to remain a legal option and applicable to those under the age of 18! If he ever gets the chance, he WILL do it again. Permanently removing a threat like this to society is simply a fair, just and reasonable act pf self-preservation we should always have available.

[Captain Insano]

It would take exactly one public execution involving one of these guys and a wood-chipper feet first and you would cut these types of crimes in half. Thank the liberals that will never happen.