Kidnapped and Held Hostage for Days, One 11-Year-Old Managed to Outwit Her Captor and Document Her Surroundings 

At just 11 years old, Leah Henry endured a nightmare few could imagine — four days bound and gagged by her abductor — before her courage and quick thinking led to her rescue.

In May 2001, convicted s*x offender Gary Dale Cox abducted Leah from the street near her Houston, Texas, home. For four days, he kept her captive in a remote cabin outside Kerrville. Despite being restrained, Leah managed to free one hand, write notes describing her situation, and secretly take photographs of the cabin with a camera she had in her backpack.

On May 4, Cox placed Leah in his car, unaware that his plan was about to unravel. Sgt. David Billeiter, a police officer investigating a report of suspicious activity, pulled up to the scene. Authorities had been searching for Leah for three days with helicopters, patrols, and tracking dogs, following a tip that she might be with Cox in rural Texas. As Cox approached Leah’s side of the vehicle with a gun, she made her move — bolting from the car to safety.

Sgt. Billeiter later said, “Leah knew the danger, and she seized the opportunity.” Moments later, Cox turned the gun on himself as police closed in.

Leah was taken to a hospital and treated for her injuries. “The main thing is this child is safe and the individual is dead,” said Slidell Police Chief Ben Morris. “The perpetrator is in the hands of God, and hopefully He has washed His hands of him and put him where he belongs.”

Investigators had already suspected Cox of two other abductions earlier that year — 11-year-old Lisa Bruno from suburban New Orleans in April and 9-year-old Nykema Augustine from San Antonio in March. Both girls were held captive for several days before being released, and each described a man who matched Cox’s appearance.

Years later, in a 2015 reunion filmed for Lifetime, Leah reunited with Sgt. Billeiter. He called their encounter “a divine appointment,” adding, “If I had been a few minutes late, you could have passed me on the road and I never would have known, because he had changed the color of the car.”

“You drove up at the perfect time and you saved my life,” Leah told him — words that captured the extraordinary bravery and timing that brought her ordeal to an end.