After seven-hour race, a little girl's life is saved

Lake Worth Mayor Marc Drautz called it "pretty much a miracle" Sunday when searchers found an abducted and sexually assaulted 8-year-old girl alive in a trash container at a secluded landfill. It was a miracle made of good police work and the cooperation of neighbors.

About 100 officers from city, county and state law-enforcement agencies mobilized quickly after getting the call from Lake Worth police, and within seven hours of the girl's disappearance, they had found her and arrested a suspect. Lake Worth Police Chief William Smith put out an Amber Alert and called on the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Child Abduction Response Team to join in the search. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office put up a helicopter and sent out a marine unit. Lake Worth police Sgt. Mike Hall and Sheriff's Cpl. Bob Cresswell found the girl in a yellow recycling bin, covered with rocks and broken concrete.

Lake Worth detectives said they were suspicious from the start about the story Milagro Cunningham told. The 17-year-old who was staying in the home where the girl also was staying Saturday night claimed that unknown "white men" had entered the house and kidnapped her. Cunningham said the men had beaten him as he tried to run after their car. His account unraveled under interrogation led by Lake Worth Detective Lt. Dave Matthews, and police say Cunningham ultimately confessed. He faces charges of attempted murder, sexual battery and false imprisonment. The girl, according to her mother and godmother, told police that Cunningham had assaulted her in bed. Police believe that Cunningham took the girl to the landfill on foot in the middle of the night.

The child endured a nightmare, and the story could have been more tragic had police not found her as soon as they did. It is doubtful that she could have survived in the bin much longer. The weight of the rubble made it impossible for her to dig her way out, and the heat inside was suffocating. Sgt. Hall and Cpl. Cresswell saw only a small hand and foot sticking out from under the debris. She reportedly came out of the ordeal in good physical condition but will need more help from the community to overcome the psychological damage.

The unspeakable crime against the child dampens the celebration of her survival. But a little girl is alive today against all odds because law enforcement agencies set aside turf issues, took quick action and did their jobs well.