Outside a grocery store in San Francisco, Theresa Shanley saw a man and young girl panhandling. The girl looked vaguely familiar. Shanley had seen an AMBER Alert and recognized the girl's “big brown eyes.” The girl, 12-year-old Brittany Smith, had disappeared after her mother had been murdered at their home in Roanoke County, Virginia. Shanley ran into the store and asked employees to call police. Officers quickly arrested the suspect and took the young girl into custody.
“Because of Shanley’s keen eye and her recollection of the AMBER Alert, Brittany is safe today,” said Roanoke County Police Detective Chris Welch.