Sharrel Blankenbaker Dies Saving Her Granddaughter From Kidnapper Gary Don Carner

• Im glad to call her my aunt shes my hero i got to see her right before she left to oklahoma and thats when the inceident happend i cry everydayy!

• An honorable and courageous woman. Peace be with her.

• Don't know how I missed this story that was one heck of a woman. What a legacy. @HMP. I can understand your post (in some ways). Obviously it is not this mans families fault he is what he is. BUT on that note did he just one day go crazy and start trying to kidnap? He was so poor at it I would tend to doubt he had actually acomplished kidnapping in the past. But then again at that age I would think he holds some deep secrets from the past. Has any women young or otherwise came up missing around him before?

• I just wanted to say that I feel so so bad for everyone involved and while I totally understand everyones feelings this has hit me on a personal level. If I new no one involved or new the heroic grandmother I would be posting the exact same thing. I actually new but never spoke to Gary Carner. I do however now his family and again while I feel so horrible for all the victims there is another hurt and confussed family involved. And I can only imagine the humiliation and confussion and hurt they are feeling. Though most of you don't care as I probably would not Mr. Carner had 2 daughters, a son, a wife and OVER 13 grandchildren and I believe just 1 great grandchild. This family is a very close family and they were very close to their father, husband and grandpa. I no they are really hurting and hurting for the victims and their families. Again I totally understand everyone being furious but thinking about all involved it is sad to think about if I was reading all the negative feedback on my father or grandfather that was only ever none as a family man to his family. And please don't post that I am defending him cause with a family of my on I would want to hurt him too. I am however defending the family that does not and will not ever understand what happened to their father and grandpa to make him do such a horrible thing.

• Remember the vid of the store clerk disarming a robber? The lady customer at the counter HID BEHIND HER DAUGHTER when the robber pulled out his gun. She was a sack of crap. This Grandma is a true hero. RIP

• She died protecting her granddaughter. I would've done the same ONLY he'da got capped before I did because THIS Granny is always strapped AND it's all legal.Id'a filled his a$$ so full of holes, he'da been whistlin' Dixie all the way to the freekin' morgue!! R.I.P. Sharrel. We honor you.

• Amen to that IowaGrammy. Rest in Peace dear lady.

• Sharrel Blankenbaker. Occupation - Grandma. You are what most of us hope to be and pray we never have to find out.

• RIP Sherrel ... What a brave woman! But I can't help but wonder if the culprit psychopath had any other previous victims out there. His tenacity makes me think that this was not his first rodeo. Just glad the scumbag is dead and Ihe deserves to rot for what he took away from this loving family!

• Wow, what a story and what a brave lady. I must say though, I am SO GLAD those cops killed him. I can guarantee he wouldn't have been in jail nearly as long as he should have been and would have gotten out and continued to be...whatever it is you can call him, definitely not human though. My prayers go out to the family, and to the little girl who had to witness her grandmother being killed, but I know it will make her a stronger person.

• This could easily have been my own Grandmother. They don't make women like that anymore.

• Condolences to the family of grandma Sharrel. It's scary that this scum was so obsessed with abducting a female and possibly raping then murdering his victim if successful. I hope after reading this story women will take steps to protect themselves and loved ones against an attack or abduction.

• Gotta love that right to bear arms ~ even if you are a child-molesting creep.

• My condolences to the family of grandma Sherral!!! They lost one wonderful, brave woman! What a way to go, defending your granddaughter from a creep! There are worse ways, I suppose. I am soooooo happy the girl was able to get away. This could have easily ended in 2 tragedies. And luckily, it didn't.

• cw, I'm doing a'ight, 'specially for a needlessly bright day. LOL Glad you're doing well.

• alexa I am doing too good for words-hope the same for you :D

• Right on Day Dreamer, right on.

• alexa kim, I also liked your post above. Very well put! I am NOT a violent person by any means; but, I would do anything in my power to protect my child regardless of what others thought of me. I could never just let someone take my child w/out a fight. In my eyes, I would rather be dead than to lose my child knowing all of the sick things that happen to kids these days.

• Well said LouLou! Kids don't ask to be brought into this world. We as parents WANT them (or should). It is our job to protect them at all costs! I too hope this little girl will not blame herself. Rather, I hope she will realize the great love and devotion her grandmother had for her! I also agree w/ the poster above, this family should be presented w/ a medal in memory of their loving grandmother. I am also very thankful that LE took him out. At least the kids won't have to live in fear not knowing where he is or having to go through a trial.

• Heyas cw, how are you this overly bright Monday? Yeah, I imagine turning into a screaming, scratching, pistol firing banshee if at all possible if I were in the same situation. I already know I'll go medieval and freaky with no regard for how it looks to anyone else.

• Hey Day Dreamer, It's hard to say what you'd do in a situation until your in it...but I agree 100%. If some weirdo tried to snatch my angel boy, I'd fight tooth and nail with everything in me. I wouldn't let my baby go without one hell of a fight. That's what mom's and grandmoms are for!! RIP Sharrel, a true grandmother, send from god to protect Cassidy!!!

• This is so incredibly sad!! This grandma is definitely a HERO!!! She went above and beyond for her grandchild. As sad as it is that she lost her life, I would be willing to bet she preferred that over seeing her grand daughter drug away and possible tortured, raped, and murdered. I have often wondered what I would do in a similar situation. Call me stupid if you want, I believe I would do exactly the same thing. My child is my life; and, I would fight to the death for his safety. I asked GOD to send me a child; and, it is MY responsibility to raise him, provide a wonderful childhood, and protect him to the best of my ability. If there were any kind of situation that he could be harmed, I would gladly take his place to keep him safe. For the life of me, I can't fathom why all mothers don't have the same feelings! I'm just glad no one else was injured and this POS has been sent to GOD for punishment rather than the taxpayers providing him a home and luxuries. Perhaps Granny was waiting at the pearly gates for him too. I hope that everyone that believes in prayer (not trying to push my beliefs so if you don't that is your prerogative) will join me in pray for the family of Sharrel Blankenbaker. May GOD help them through this difficult time. I am sure they are all very proud and realize what an amazing woman and grandmother she was!

• agreed on this is what family is or should be...as alexa kim put it so well, we need to fight for our children with all we've got

• I am about to cry. I hope this girl does not blamer herself & that she cherishes her life. Prayers out to Sharrel's family & friends as they now have another angel looking out over them.

• They have matching aprons on in the photo... Sad story indeed.

• Reading so many horror stories of parents who use and abuse kids makes us forget that so many of us would die to protect our children and in this case Granddaughter. She is a reflection of true love. I bet that even if she had known she would have died she would have done this again to protect any of her family. And so would I. The thought of anyone grabbing and harming one of my kids is almost hard to bare and if it meant sacraficing my life to protect them then I happily would. Although that doesn't mean to say I don't relish the thought of my kids flying the nest and creating their own lives and families....already in my mind changed the smaller bedroom into my craft room when the oldest moves out:-)...I'm only human after all:-)

• Mark, I believe you and I am grateful to know that your children have you guarding them. I think her rescued grandchildren, once they overcome the trauma of essentially watching her die for them, will one day be so grateful and proud, they will endeavor to honor her sacrifice. Every time I hear of these beautiful heroes, it is as you say, bittersweet.

• This woman deserves a metal of valor presented to her family on her behalf. She is a true hero. R.I.P dear Sharrel. What a tragic event for two children to witness. God be with them.

• Personal Sacrifice is the greatest form of Heroism, and this Grandmother was a Hero of the highest Order. I know that I would have gladly done the same thing, without thought or hesitation, for my own daughter, or my future grandchildren, but I'm not sure if I would do the same for a stranger (although I like to think that I would). @alexa kim, I agree that selfless acts of personal sacrifice like this go a long way towards teaching future generations about selflessness. Hopefully this young child will come to appreciate the sacrifice her loving grandmother made for her and value the gift she has been given far more than her peers might. Stories like this are so bittersweet. They are tragic, but the silver lining is so undeniable and powerful.

• That is such a sad story. That Grandma is a true hero. That's what a parent or grandparent is supposed to do, risk your life to save your childs (or grandchild). Many people could take a lesson away from her. RIP Sharrel.

• Yes, a true "hero", in the way the word was meant to be used. Too bad hardly anyone these days had the guts this lady did. That's what you're SUPPOSED to do when confronted with this type of a situation.

• She was a hero. We know she couldn't stand the thought of standing by and watching someone drive away with her granddaughter. She just couldn't. We now have a fresh angel overwatching us all, especially over her granddaughter, with a smile, no doubt. So she did what more of us need to do when faced with a similar situation. Forget ourselves and fight for the child with literally everything. Trust me, when you love a child more than yourself, giving up your life to save them is easier than it sounds. It's alright if you momentarily hesitate. What matters more is if you go through with it even after you involuntarily took a beat to fully appreciate what you were about to do. That kind of sacrifice is what inspires our next generation to become a great generation.

• I agree. this was one woman who KNEW the meaning of family. and why to keep one's family as safe as possible.

• When did this happen? I haven't seen or heard anything about this in Dallas. The cops deserve a bonus for saving the tax payers the money for housing Carner before he would have been put to death. And believe me, he would have gone to the head of the line on death row.

• this is the true meaning of Grandmother. She gave her life for the child. With no 2nd thoughts to her own life. And if some of these "moms" in our stories would think the same way, no babies or kids would be dead at all. Maybe they all can learn from Sherrel. RIP Sherrel. You saved your granddaughter.

• THIS is what family is.

• Sharrel Blankenbaker- what a hero. I would be glad to call her grandma.

• Poor grandma had some brass balls. Too bad there isn't a way to bring that shithole Carner back to life so the cops can kill him again and again.

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