Do you believe in coincidences? I believe everything happens for a reason.
Earl Melchert returned to his house on September 5 at midday to collect his diesel can. He intended to fill it up on his way back home.
From a distance, he saw something like a deer running. However, it was a 15-year-old girl who had been missing for a few weeks. The teen named Jasmine Block was wet and anxious, she then sought refuge inside Melchert’s truck.
Melchert recognized the girl from the news and all the missing ads that had been posted around town. The girl went missing from her home in Alexandria, MN since August 9th.
It was later revealed that Jasmine had been kidnapped and held captive during this whole time. She had been subjected to both sexual and physical abuse in a foreclosed home — making it difficult to find her.
Block says that her father’s friend, 32-year-old Jay Baker, came to their home late at night and asked her to help out with his son. Block obliged and accompanied Baker to his house.
Baker restrained Block with zip ties. For 29 days, Baker, and his friends Holby and Powers sexually assaulted her.
Block told investigators the men tried to kill her thrice, including drowning her in a bathtub. On September 5th, they transported her in a duffel bag at the back of the truck, and she managed to escape. She threw herself into a lake near the home, swam over to the other side and eventually out onto the road where Earl was driving.
Fortunately, Earl saved her life and helped police arrest her perpetrators. He was thanked by the local police and offered a ransom payment for finding the missing girl. Jasmine is now in safety.
