UPS driver thought it was a usual pick-up from customer's house — then he looked at the parcel and called 911
Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of abuse that some readers may find distressing.
A person in crisis does everything in their power to get help from the most unexpected places, even when the chances of survival appear bleak. A woman did just that in front of an alert UPS driver who paid attention to the message on her package and acted upon it. The driver's one action helped save the woman's life, per WHAS 11. The woman had reportedly been beaten and was being held captive by her husband. The driver's help made a huge difference to the woman's rescue process.
The woman from Missouri had reportedly been held captive by her then-33-year-old husband, James Jordan, for over 15 hours in 2016, per the report. The delivery man went to the house to pick up a package and made a significant difference to the case, according to Franklin County Sheriff's Department Sergeant T.J. Wild. He picked up the package in the morning from the house and noticed that "call 911" was written on it. The woman had handed over the package herself. The driver swiftly decided to call 911 and help out the woman. Eventually, her husband was arrested by the police on several charges. He reportedly had held her captive since the previous night and prevented her from leaving the house.
The husband didn't let his wife use her phone either, so she had no other way to call for help, according to court documents. The man beat her, put a gun to her head and threatened to kill her. She even tried to run away at one point, but he dragged her back inside the house. The couple also had a 3-year-old child who was locked inside his room without any food or water during the entire incident. Jordan was charged with domestic assault, sodomy, felonious restraint, endangering the welfare of a child and unlawful use of a weapon. His bond was set at $100,000.
According to a 2020 survey by Ballard Brief, around 22 percent of the women in the US experienced some form of domestic violence. However, less than 40 percent of them actively seek help in such situations. A woman might lose confidence in leaving an abusive relationship due to the mental and physical consequences. Healthcare reporting and distance from state resources are the reasons many women are not able to get any help while facing abuse. Around one-third of women who have left abusive relationships reported intimate partner violence, revictimization and increased violence after that. Childhood awareness can help break the cycle of generational and cultural domestic violence.
After performing such a brave act, UPS praised the employee. "We are grateful this UPS driver with more than a decade of service followed protocol when he saw a customer in distress and contacted authorities after he saw her message to contact 9-1-1," the company stated, per CNN. "Our drivers are very familiar with their routes and are trained to be aware of their surroundings and respond to requests for assistance," the company further added.