Kidnap victim reunites with woman who saved her life
During an attempted kidnapping 16 years ago, Nicole Hodovsky was saved thanks to the vigilance of a then 19 year-old soldier; 'Moriah saved my life. Who knows what could have happened had she not bumped into me.'
In 2000, Nicole Hodovsky, who was three years old at the time, was shopping with her mother in a mall in Be'er Sheva when the two became separated. While searching for her mother, a deranged woman grabbed Nicole's hand and attempted to force her onto a bus to Tel Aviv.
Upon arriving at the bus, the kidnapper asked for money from pedestrians. One of those pedestrians was Moriah Barnas, 35, who was then a soldier. Moriah, now a mother herself, recalls, "The woman claimed she was the child's sister and the mother was waiting for them. Something bothered me. I told her I would give her money, but first I wanted to see the mother. The kidnapper decided to give up, but I insisted on wanting to see the mother. She picked up the girl and started to run. I ran after her yelling 'kidnap!' until she dropped the child."
Nicole grew up, was drafted into the IDF and now serves in the military police. Recently, she told her friends that serve with her that she wants to meet the woman that saved her. The IDF offered its assistance to help find Moriah, who turned out to live near the checkpoint that Nicole serves at, and an emotional meeting was organized.
"Moriah saved my life. Who knows what could have happened had she not bumped into me," said Nicole.
