In search for California deputy, woman shares gratitude

• Hollie Linton, of Newark, is hoping to one day thank the officer who rescued her after a childhood abduction.

NEWARK - Hollie Linton was watching the news last month when a particular story filled her with emotion.

It was a piece about a police officer in New Mexico who had found a young girl who had been abducted and left in a parking lot.

The segment brought the Newark woman right back to her childhood in California.

It's not an experience she shares with many people, but Linton was kidnapped for a short time in August 1982, when she was about 4 years old.

She was released by her abductor and discovered in a parking lot at Rio Hondo College by a deputy from Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

After the broadcast ended and she relived her experience, Linton focused her thoughts on the deputy who comforted her and reassured her that everything was going to be OK after a horrible experience.

She'd thought about seeking him out in the past, and seeing the news story inspired her that maybe it was the right time to try to find him and say thank you.

"(Police officers) see so many ugly things. They don't always know how much they change people's lives," she said.

Over the last few weeks, Linton has contacted officers at the LA County Sheriff's Department, the Whittier Police Department and the West Covina Police Department, hoping to find out more information about her case.

She was thrilled to find out her rescuer is still alive and has retired from law enforcement. She is waiting to hear whether he is interested in making contact with her.

But no matter what happens, Linton said she is ready to share her story to teach others about the importance of gratitude and overcoming obstacles.

“Difficulties and poor choices don't define you," she said. "They don't determine where you go in life or who you will be.”

Linton remembers her abduction vividly, but she prefers to keep many of the details to herself.

She was taken by a man she did not know who lured her away from her family, then let her go several hours later.

Once she was rescued, the shock and trauma from the event caught up with her, and she has few memories of what happened next.

While reviewing her case last month, she learned there was a suspect who was detained and questioned, but was released because as a small child, she wasn't able to provide reliable evidence, Linton said.

Linton's mother moved their family to the Newark area shortly after the abduction so they could be closer to relatives. She made it clear to Linton that she didn't want to talk about the incident.

Linton struggled with that silence. There were times when she questioned her memory of the kidnapping and wondered if it happened at all.

Seeing her file from the police for the first time several weeks ago was difficult, but she said it also brought a sense of closure.

"It was almost validation for me," she said.

The kidnapping was one of many obstacles Linton faced growing up. She had a difficult home life, and her family struggled financially. But she held on to the memory of the deputy who rescued her.

“That memory is the thing (that helped me) that when I was young and things were difficult," she said. "I would think, ‘If I can survive this, if someone can find me in the middle of the parking lot, then I can make it, I can do it.’”

Looking back on her childhood, Linton said she believes that deputy helped change the course of her life.

Other people would help her along the way — providing her with support and a place to stay or helping her apply to college — but he was the first.

Linton felt drawn to studying criminal justice and eventually became a licensed social worker.

She's hoping one day she can tell her rescuer that he helped inspire her to pursue a career helping others.

"That rescue very heavily impacted my life," she said. "I know how strongly it has directed me."

Both the West Covina Police Department and the LA Sheriff's Department confirmed they are helping Linton get information about her case but declined to comment further for an Advocate article.

But Linton has received multiple emails from officers along the way who have kept her up to date on the information they've found related to her case.

“So many officers have been helpful. I cannot express enough gratitude (to them) really, let alone the particular officer who rescued me,” she said. “I think gratitude is an important message.”

Although she's hoping to one day thank her rescuer in person, Linton said an even bigger priority is to express her gratitude in the way she lives her life.

She said she tries to be the best mother, wife, friend and social worker she can be to show she's grateful for a second chance.

“I can say thank you to the people who have helped me," she said. "But the best way to be gracious is to vest yourself in other people who need you because that's what people did for me.”

ajeffries@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @amsjeffries