We often don’t think of the everyday workers doing the jobs that not everyone wants. But for one little girl in Louisiana, she will likely spend the rest of her life being thankful that sanitation workers are doing their job. Now, the two men are being called heroes, and the kidnapped 10-year-old is safe and back home with her family.

Pelican Waste & Debris employees Dion Merrick and Brandon Antoine said they knew something was off when they saw a silver sedan parked in a field. The pair were on their trash pickup route when they spotted the vehicle. “Something told me, ‘Just look.’ I said ‘What’s that car doing way ducked off in in the field like that?”’ Merrick said. Then they realized, he said, that an earlier Amber Alert had been concerning this car.

And he was like, ‘B, you know what I just saw… man, that looks like that silver Nissan on the Amber Alert,'” Antoine recalled.

The quick-thinking heroes used their garbage truck to block the car in and immediately called police, Merrick said. “I blocked the truck in, [making] sure he couldn’t get out,” he said. A video taken shows suspect Michael Sereal, 33, being led away by police. He can be heard shouting, “Why are you doing this to me?”

Brandon Antoine, left, and Dion Merrick.

When a police officer thanked the men for their actions, Merrick got choked up and said he was “just doing my job.” “I called the cops, they saved that little girl’s life,” he said. “I blocked that truck in, make sure [he] couldn’t get out.” Pelican Waste & Debris paid tribute to the men on social media, giving them a ‘huge shoutout’ and adding: ‘Way to go guys!’.  

Pelican CEO Roddie Matherne also praised his employees. “We couldn’t be prouder of Dion and Brandon,” Matherne said. “In fact, All of our Pelican Waste team have been heroically working without fail during the pandemic quietly, professionally, and consistently serving the communities where we collect garbage & debris. They often respond in other ways while on the road.”

This was an exceptional thing that may very well have saved a little girl’s [life].

Michael Sereal’s police mugshot

The little girl was medically cleared after her terrifying ordeal, Louisiana State Police said. Merrick and Antoine were able to meet with her after her rescue. Local news reported that Sereal was a friend of one of the girl’s family members. He is being held in without bond, and awaiting court. The New Iberia Police Department said that “Sereal was taken into custody by St. Martin Parish Deputies and then transferred to the custody of the New Iberia Police Department where he is being arrested for aggravated kidnapping.”

Thanks to the two men, who instead of looking the other way when they saw something suspicious, they ran toward trouble, a young girl is now home safe. The men said it was a no-brainer when choosing to help. Merrick, who is a Navy veteran, said that he had a duty to protect the girl. “It was just one of those things you just had to do,” he said. “It was a little girl from the community.” Watch below for a look at the two men and their heroic actions.

Sources: ABC | ABC6 | Daily Mail