Teen Girl Kidnapped And Assaulted For 29 Days – Then One Day, She Decides She’s Had Enough

We all like to think that in the case of emergency we would be cool, calm and collected.

We would be able to charm or fight our way out of any situation, and we’d always come out unscathed.

That’s a nice little story we tell ourselves.

Unfortunately, most of us when the chips are down, end up just as down as those chips are.

We give in to terror and panic and far too many times end up as just another casualty for the late news to report. It’s the sad truth but fear is a powerful dictator.

Jasmine Block was just 15 years old when she was kidnapped and held against her will for 29 days; during that time she was continually assaulted and threatened with deadly weapons.

Now, most young girls would’ve turned into whimpering masses of fear, but not young Jasmine.

She never stopped believing that she would find a way out of the mess and get back home to her family.

It all began with an innocent event:

Like most of us do without giving it a second thought, Jasmine had accepted a ride from someone she knew. And thought she knew well.

As it turns out, she didn’t know the right things about him. She says that as soon as she was in the car, he sped off to a Carlos home where two other men helped him take Jasmine inside.

Once they had her inside, they trussed her up using plastic zip ties. They then reportedly took turns assaulting her.

Besides the physical abuse, over the next four weeks they would threaten her daily with weapons. It was a nightmare but not even the mental torture crushed her spirit.

And one day the men made a fatal mistake: They left Jasmine alone and drove away.

When no neighbors answered her cries for help, the weary and battered teen escaped her bonds, then actually swam across Thompson Lake to find someone who would care.

She found that in the form of a kindly farmer who helped her call the police and then took her to a hospital.

There, she was reunited with her mother, who had never given up hope that her little girl would return to her waiting arms.

She was surprised to learn that $7,000 had been raised as a reward to anyone who had offered the information that led to Jasmine’s return.

No one has commented as to the donors of the money, or what will happen to it now that Jasmine turned out to be her own rescuer.

The last time anyone saw Jasmine was the night of August 8 around 10:30 p.m. at her family’s home in Alexandria.

The teen had spent the day boating with neighbors but had returned home early complaining of a migraine.

Her mother told Dateline that on that night, Jasmine had been resting on the couch while she left to tend to a family emergency. When she returned home, Jasmine was gone.

Nothing but a pair of shoes was missing. Her cell phone, purse and other items that young girl would never leave behind were still in the home.

But Jasmine got free and told her story quickly, which meant justice was waiting for the three kidnappers when they got back.

Instead of returning home to the unwelcoming arms of their hostage, the three men were apprehended. They were identified as Thomas Barker, 32; Joshua Holby, 31; and Steven Powers, 20, according to the WCCO-TV.

Jasmine’s mother, Sarah Block, posted the following on Facebook following Jasmine’s return:

“I just want to say thank you for helping for never giving up!

I also ask to respect Jasmine myself and her sisters as we have been apart 4 weeks and it’s been a lot so give space.”

She added: “I will not share any details as this is an ongoing investigation and I tell everyone to respect that.”

We respect not only that but also we respect the heck out of any mother who can raise a daughter with that kind of moxy.

Kudos Jasmine for finding out that you are that hero among us who actually can remain cool, calm and collected when the chips are down.

Sources: KARE 11, New York Post