Timothy Fry allegedly tried to kidnap Heather Owen's daughter at a Biscuitville restaurant in Greensboro, North Carolina. Photo / WXII
Timothy Fry allegedly tried to kidnap Heather Owen's daughter at a Biscuitville restaurant in Greensboro, North Carolina. Photo / WXII
A good Samaritan has been gifted free breakfast for a year after rescuing an 8-year-old girl from a potential kidnapping.
Carolina man Cody Byrd has been labelled a hero after he thwarted accused paedophile Timothy Fry's plot to snatch a girl from a Biscuitville restaurant.
Mother Heather Owen and her daughter were at the restaurant when the 8-year-old ran off to the bathroom.
Owen noticed Fry allegedly sitting near the pair with his eyes on her daughter, watching her walk to the bathroom. Fry then got up and started following the girl to the bathroom. Owen told NBC she started to worry and peeped around the corner to have a look.
"I was just kind of leaning like this, just to kind of peek around the corner at her," she said.
"I saw him standing against the wall … and you don't want to pre-judge anybody 'cause that happens a lot nowadays. I was like, 'Well, maybe he really is going to use the bathroom.'"
Sensing something wasn't right, good Samaritan Byrd also got up and walked around the corner towards the bathroom.
Timothy Fry allegedly tried to kidnap Heather Owen's daughter at a Biscuitville restaurant in Greensboro, North Carolina. Photo / WXII
"It's the kind of vibe he was putting off," Byrd said. "The fact that when I came in, he was just staring at the girl, and he was just so focused on her. And then once he got up to go to the bathroom right out there (where) she went, that's when I was like, 'Okay, I'm already not feeling right about this.'"
Luckily Byrd was alert to the situation because he was there to save the 8-year-old from being kidnapped.
As she walked out of the bathroom, Fry attempted to grab the girl.
"Just as he got there, (she) came out of the bathroom, and that's when the guy tried to grab her — and that's when Byrd intervened," Owen said. "Then, (she) came running around to me."
Byrd managed to get a photo of the Fry as he ran out the door and fled the scene. Byrd also managed to capture a photo of his getaway truck.
Cody Byrd helped apprehend a man who allegedly tried to kidnap Heather Owen's daughter. Photo / NBC
Within two hours Fry was arrested.
Police say Fry admitted to an officer that he intended to kidnap the girl and that he found her sexually attractive.
Biscuitville gifted Byrd a Good Citizen Award and offered him free breakfast for a year.
Biscuitville marketing manager Kristie Mitchell said they wanted to thank Byrd for saving the girl and acknowledge he put himself in danger to save the 8-year-old.
"I just really want Cody to be sure that he realises how appreciative we are as a brand and that we certainly do recognise what he did and it's no small thing.
"And so, it was worth the time to stop just to say thank you to him and to be extremely grateful for Cody."
