A Valley Transportation Authority bus driver in San Francisco, California was recently hailed as a hero after his actions resulted in the rescue of a kidnapped toddler.
About an hour after the 3-year-old was reported missing Tim Watson, the bus driver, noticed a man with a young boy on his bus. They matched the description he’d heard, but he really didn’t think much of it at first.
But when Watson, the father of two kids, noticed that the boy was crying and obviously unhappy his paternal instincts kicked in and he realized that something wasn’t right. Connecting the dots, he realized that this was probably the kidnapped child and his abductor. Not wanting to risk the boy’s safety or further complicate the situation, he kept quiet and devised a plan.
Pulling the bus over, Watson pretended to search for a lost backpack. As he was conducting his fake search he had the opportunity to quietly notify the police of his suspicions. He then drove to the police station, where officers were waiting to step in and handle the situation.
When the 23-year-old suspect got off of the bus, they pried the toddler out of his arms and took the abductor into custody. Thankfully, the child seemed to be uninjured and okay.
Watson broke down after learning that he had guessed the situation correctly, stating, “This could have been my child that was abducted… I feel I did what any father would do.”