Every day, weโre faced with decisions. While some are easy, others are quite difficult. We always think weโd do the right thing if we experienced something bad but sometimes, thatโs harder than expected. For one man, he knew what he had to do and thank goodness he made the correct choice.
Hearing something odd
Juan Vaquero, age 54, lives in Dallas, Texas in a camper located in a coupleโs backyard. Living inside the house is his landlord, Esmeralda Lira, and her boyfriend, Jose Balderas. Sheโs also a grandmother to three grandchildren, aged 4, 6, and 7. One Sunday night as Vaquero returned home, he heard the strangest thing yet it sounded so familiar.
Then he knew
It didnโt take long for Vaquero to recognize the sound. It was his landlordโs 6-year-old grandson. As he continued listening, he realized the small child was calling out to him. But still, he didnโt understand what was going on.
A regular house guest
This little boy was often at his grandparentโs house so hearing his voice didnโt seem too strangeโฆat first. After all, with his camper nearby, it wasnโt out of the ordinary for him to talk to the child. But this seemed different.
They appeared to be good people
Esmeralda Lira and her boyfriend, from whom the man rented the camper appeared to be just any normal couple. But on this particular night, Vaquero was about to discover something that shook him to the core.
Searching in the dark
By the time Vaquero came home, it was already pitch-black outside. So, he could only hear the boy but not see him. To find out what was going on, he turned on his cell phone flashlight. From there, he began to search for the child.
Held captive
As Vaquero got closer and closer to the sound of the boyโs voice, thatโs when he realized it was coming from inside a shed located behind his camper. But that wasnโt what bothered him. The shed was padlocked with the child inside.
Feeling confused
Vaquero knew what he saw yet he felt confused. Why on earth was this 6-year-old boy locked inside the shed? Thinking quickly, he turned on his phoneโs recorder and began gathering evidence as he spoke to the child from the outside.
What he heard made him feel sick
From the conversation, Vaquero learned this boy had been locked inside the shed since 6:00 pm that night, hours earlier. He then asked him who put him in the shed to which the child replied his grandmother. He pressed further to find out why?
The boy revealed more information
Come to find out, Vaquero had at one point given the child a pillow and blanket since he didnโt have them. That upset his grandmother and ever since then, sheโd been extra mean to him. Inside, the shed, the boy had nothing but a box to sit on. But then things took a turn for the worse.
His hands were tied
The child said his grandmother didnโt want him to grab things anymore so she tied his hands. The boy also hadnโt had anything to eat since that morning. Although Vaquero offered to bring him a sandwich and Jell-O, he explained he couldnโt eat them since his hands were tied behind his back.
Vaquero then asked him if he meant like how police handcuff criminals and the boy said, โyesโ although his hands were tied with shoelaces.
Heโd heard enough
After telling the boy heโd be back, Vaquero called the police. When they arrived at 11:00 p.m. they discovered a 4 and 7-year-old inside the house. When asked about the 6-year-old, the grandmother said he was with his mom. Thatโs when Vaquero pointed the cops in the direction of the shed.
Finally saved
Reluctantly, the grandmother gave the officers the key to open it. There, they found the boy just as he saidโฆin the dark, with only a box, and his hands tied behind his back. Thankfully, both Lira and Balderas were arrested for child endangerment. During the formal investigation, the officials discovered this wasnโt the first time the boy had been locked in the shed.
His grandmother had done this for the past two weeks. The boy was simply hungry and trying to find food, which made Lira mad. For Vaquero, that explained why this child often came to his camper asking for a snack. Now in protective custody, the boy and his siblings are safe.
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