SOPA Images
On June 22, a 24-year-old Bronx woman orchestrated her own rescue from an alleged kidnapper by ordering food from the Chipper Truck Cafe via GrubHub. She seized the opportunity to reach out for help in the comments section where customers usually drop notes and special instructions about their food.
“Please call the police his going to call me when you delivered come with the cones please don’t make it obvious” the young woman wrote, according to a post on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
The order taker sprung into action.
The woman claimed Kemoy Royal, 32, held her captive for five hours, according to Today. During that time the unidentified woman was sexually assaulted. Royal was apprehended and charged multiple crimes, including rape, strangulation, and unlawful imprisonment. The suspect was also levied with the sexual assault harges in connection with another incident on June 15.
If not for the quick actions of the victim and cafe employees this situation may have ended tragically.
“Once we pack the bags and send it out, that’s it,”
Alice Bermejo, the owner of the Chipper Truck Cafe told CBS News. “The fact that they saw that before they sent it out, they could’ve just left it as the driver’s problem. But they didn’t.”
This isn’t the first time service workers have aided in the rescue of a kidnap victim. In May 2022, an unidentified Tennessee woman, pleading for help, slipped a note to KFC employees. According to Fox News, the note warned employees that Diego Glay, the alleged kidnapper, was holding the woman against her will and possessed a gun. The service workers quickly alerted authorities, who arrested the suspect.
A 2016 study called the “Missing White Woman Syndrome,” details the lack of media response to missing African American women, as compared to the response of missing white women. Fewer news stories and articles are circulated about Black women, leaving the public largely unaware. This line of thinking begs the question: If no one knows what you look like, how can they find you?
Thirty-four percent of women missing in 2020 are Black, NPR reported. In total 90,3033 Black women have disappeared.The number is staggering considering Black women only make up 15 percent of the entire population. In both these recent cases, both women made themselves visible, tapped into their wits and freed themselves from dangerous situations.
RELATED CONTENT: On The Latest Episode Of ‘Red Table Talk’ Jada And Gammy Tackle ‘Missing White Woman Syndrome’
