A 14-month-old girl spent hours trapped inside a Conyers bank vault Friday evening after wandering off from her mother and grandmother, an employee at the Wells Fargo branch.
What followed was a scene from a summer blockbuster, as bank officials and first responders worked feverishly to locate a locksmith trained to open the vault, which was set on a time-released lock, according to Conyers Police Chief Gene Wilson.
Police and firefighters were helpless, unable to reach the toddler who had walked into the open vault as the bank was closing for the day. Before the girl, whose name was not made available, could be found, an employee of the branch closed the vault.
The locksmith arrived to "a very tense scene," Wilson said. The little girl's parents and grandparents, flanked by local authorities, watched as he went to work freeing the toddler.
Rescue workers were able to pump fresh air into vents connected to the vault, Wilson said. The baby could be heard crying, oddly reassuring amid concerns over the little girl's welfare.
With the aid of "a very large drill," according to Wilson, the vault was finally breached around 9 p.m. -- roughly four hours after the toddler was locked inside.
"That was one of the better moments I've ever witnessed," said the veteran police chief of the rescue at the branch on Ga. 20 near the intersection of Ga. 138.
The girl was fine, save for a soiled diaper. Before heading home, she delivered a note written by her grateful mother to the locksmith, Wilson said.
Ronald Snively, the locksmith, said he worked as fast as he could to free the toddler, who wailed louder whenever he ran his drill.
“It’s got to be very, very terrifying,” said Snively, whose Smyrna business specializes in opening vaults and safes.
“I’ve opened other vaults a couple of other times with people in them, but they were adults,” said Snively, of Powder Springs. “This was a child and you wanted to get the door open as quickly as possible.”
Several years ago, he said, he rescued an employee from a bank vault who had gone back into the money room shortly before closing to finish a chore. “While he was in there, another employee closed the door without checking. That’s usually how it happens,” he said.
Snively said he started out as a locksmith about 30 years ago, but quickly began specializing in opening vaults and safes because he enjoys the challenge. He said he stays busy opening safes and vaults because they malfunction or people make mistakes, forget combinations or take them with them to the grave.
“I open vaults of all kinds,” he said.
The process usually involves drilling a small hole into the safe door in a strategic location where he can disable a key part of the lock. He has a large database of lock designs to help him figure out the vulnerable points. But he said he’s never been tempted to use his skills for illicit purposes.
“I always say I don’t do night work,” he said. “Besides, it’s hard to make a living from prison.”
In the case of Friday’s rescue, he disabled the time lock, then repaired it afterwards. “The bank vault’s back in service today,” he said.
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