Sheriff: Rescued girls were minutes from death

CNN ^ | August 2, 2002

[TopQuark]

'He was hunting for a place to kill them and bury them'

Authorities remove the body of Roy Ratliff near Lake Isabella, California, on Thursday.

LANCASTER, California (CNN) -- The man who abducted two teenage girls at gunpoint early Thursday was "hunting for a place to kill them" in a remote desert spot about 100 miles away when two deputies located him and fatally shot him, authorities said.

[Joe Hadenuf]

18 shots fired at suspect..... filled the SOB full of holes.

[meandog]

There is a lot a parent can do. A parent can be a parent from the day the child is born and set down rules to be followed or else there are consequences. A parent says be home at midnight, you are home at midnight. You break the curfew you face punishment. It's not too tough unless you are a crappy parent. " Kids are going to do what the want" is no argument. It's lousy parenting...

Right, just ask President and Mrs. Bush, about their "perfect" twin girls, Jenna and Barbara who've NEVER caused them one moment of grief ...

[Joe Hadenuf]

Once CHP got the word of suspect vehicle in the area two CHPs both converging on the same road met up and neither saw the vehicle. Helicopter came on scene fast and directed ground unit to the suspect veh. in a remote off road area....

[linn37]

To read the postings on this page a person would have to believe that 80% of you had never parked in the dark and made out. Righttttttt....

[Joe Hadenuf]

Once ground units on scene, they had words with suspect, suspect started cussinng at the deputies,,,,,

[PUGACHEV]

That fellow Ratliff looks the part of a homicidal rapist, doesn't he?

[linn37]

I hope you did'nt miss the part where Grayout Davis's spokesperson canme out and took credit for the Amber alert.

[Joe Hadenuf]

The girls were laying flat in back of veh. and deputies had no idea they were in the veh...... suspect continued to have words with deputies then jumped in back seat and pointed a gun a one of the deputies..........

[Joe Hadenuf]

The other deputy saw that suspect was drawing down on his partner and opened up on suspect.... Sus slumped down and then came back up shooting point gun at deputies both deputies started firing, at this point one of the girls laying in the back of veh. exited the rear........

[Joe Hadenuf]

Saw it, and most see right through AH using this to Campaign, what a screw worm Davis .........

[Joe Hadenuf]

As the shooting continued, girl #2 exited one of the doors.....

[Joe Hadenuf]

Almost the entire time deputies had no idea girls where in back of veh. laying flat until the shooting started.... this AH was a 2 time loser, going for the big 3.... He was going down, and had nothing to lose...Per Kern County Sheriff.........

[Palladin]

Those deputies did a fantastic job. They saved the lives of those two girls. They deserve a medal!

[Joe Hadenuf]

They said they were monitoring the trucker frequencies, and that everyone in the entire state of California was looking for this vehicle.....the animial control woman was even monitoring her scanner in her truck and realized that when she saw the suspect vehicle, that was it!

BRAVO TO ALL IN CALIFORNIA....DAMN GOOD JOB........

[TopQuark]

As kids get older they stay out longer and slowly part from Mom and Dad...LOL This used to be true.

The problem is, nowadays, it is the parents who separate from children. It is parents that abrogated their responsibility. And, it is fully understandable given the hardships of modern American life: when you have children and have to take care of them, you can't take as many trips to the mall. The next thing you know, you have to watch your own behavior, can't even swear at the dinner table...

Nay, that's way too hard. It is so much better to hire the "journalists" who will inform us (we don't read anything else) that children mature earlier than before. Bingo! They mature early? Let them hunt for themselves, let them make their own decisions. They want to stay late --- fine, let them be wherever they may at 2 a.m. And, if they get in the harm's way --- well, that's tragedy for the parent, not his irresponsibility.

[angcat]

my mom set the rules, i had a boyfriend in high scool he would walk me home, nobody was home till 4:30 my mother forbid me to go into house so we would sit outside and in the winter we would stay in the hallway and wait (2 family house).
till we left home for good my mother would wait up for us. i know i will be the same way with the waiting up and the boyfriends with my daughter, my mom and dad did a dam good job i must say with me and my sister.

[Miss Marple]

Thank you for the press conference information (which as you know is sandwiched between people pontificating on parental responsibilities). I do not have access to a television right now, so I really appreciate it.

[Sandy]

So apparently the girls were able to see this guy being shot to death. That's good, I think.

[rintense]

Guess what quote is getting honorary quote of the day???

[meandog]

Wonder if you FReeper parents would like to comment on the parenting abilities of these two lovely young ladies...Jenna and Barbara Bush