It’s startling and quite sad to me that the safety of their children isn’t a priority for some parents. Today, parents not only need to watch out for their kids online but in the outside world as well. Their home should be a place of security, comfort, and safety, not fear, neglect and abuse.

Linda Benskey hadn’t seen her step-granddaughter, 5-year-old Angel in months. She was worried about her; she contacted the police. Linda requested that officers check on the North Carolina home of her stepson and little Angel. Nothing prepared her for what they’d discover.

Posted by Linda Benskey on Monday, January 22, 2018

Precious Angel was found locked in a closet under the stairs. She was in horrible condition. Covered in filth, she was badly beaten and burned.

Tracy Harrell cared for angel when she attended a local daycare. The police asked her to help in the search to locate angel. The woman couldn’t believe her eyes when she first laid eyes on the little girl.

“Her little hands were shaky,” Harell told Fox 8. “Her hair was shaved, but what wasn’t shaved was pulled out in knots, so she had bald spots all over her head.

“Her face was dirty and cut up. She had bruises around her neck.”

The police didn’t know how long the little girl who once had bouncy blonde curls had been locked away under the stairs. When asked when she’d last eaten, Angel responded with “I don’t remember.”

It was a smart idea to have Tracey participate in the search. She provided the traumatized Angel with a sense of security and comfort.

“There was never a day when she left, and she wouldn’t say, ‘I love you miss Tracy,’”Harrell recalled from her time as her caregiver.

After her rescue, Harrell said, “She clung to me and wrapped her arms around me. I had  her laying here and she kept saying ‘please don’t leave me, please don’t leave me.’”

Angel’s father, Adam Byrd and his girlfriend, crystal Carnahan were arrested and charged with child abuse, neglect, and assault with a deadly weapon. Angel’s family is working to receive full custody of the child. The DSS caseworker assigned to Angel’s case has resigned. Her supervisor was terminated for “grossly inefficient job performance.”

Thank god for grandmothers like Linda. They don’t give up until they know all their beloved children are safe.