Farmer rescues missing girl; what he does with reward an act ‘of kindness’

A Minnesota farmer who found a missing teenage girl after she had been missing for 29 days is calling the teen “the real hero.”

“Today we witnessed an incredible example of kindness,” the Alexandria Police Department posted on Facebook on Oct. 6. “Earl Melchert, the man who made the call everyone was waiting for on 09-05-17, was presented with the reward money that had been offered by the Sarah Block family and an anonymous source.”

Melchert, 65, was offered $7,000 for helping find Jasmine Block, an abducted 15-year-old, according to the New York Times.

“What no one expected was the kindness and generosity that came straight from Earl’s heart today,” the department posted. “He believes that young lady that came running towards him that September day is the real hero and without hesitation, Earl handed the reward over to her, followed by a big hug.”

Block was abducted on Aug. 8 and taken to a home where she was restrained and then sexually and physically assaulted by three men for nearly a month. They moved her several times, the Times reported, until she was eventually near Melchert’s property.

When the men left her alone for the first time to get food on Sept. 5, Block escaped her imprisonment.

Elchert told the Times he did not plan to be home that afternoon, but he returned to pick up a diesel can he needed to fill up. As he headed back to work with the empty can, he saw something moving in his field.

“I thought at first it was a deer,” he told the Times. But then he got closer. “I could make out her face, and I went, ‘Oh my gosh, this is the gal from Alexandria that’s been gone for 29 days.’ It’d been on the news, it’d been online. It went national. It was on posters, in stores, her face, her picture. Right away I recognized her.”

Police were soon after able to find the three men. The three suspects, including a friend of the Block family, were charged with kidnapping, criminal sexual conduct, assault and false imprisonment.

“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done,” Melchert told the Times. “The family needs the money. To me, yeah, that’s a lot of money, but they need it way worse than I do.”

He retired just last week.

“What a retirement present,” he said, “to hand over some money to people that really need it.”

This story was originally published October 9, 2017 at 9:12 AM with the headline "Farmer rescues missing girl; what he does with reward an act ‘of kindness’."