Duty to Help
Historical Account★★★★Several years ago the Carl Mosser family was traveling in Oklahoma when a gunman commandeered their car and held them hostage for several days as he drove around over the countryside.
The kidnapper had a strange eye that never quite closed, and the family could not tell when he was asleep. They were afraid for their lives, and so they were held hostage through the long and tedious ordeal. Finally they stopped at a little station/grocery store out in the country. Mr. Mosser saw his chance, and he grabbed his abductor and begged the station owner to call the sheriff. “Please,” he cried, “Please call the law!”
The owner got his own gun and told them all to leave. “I do not want any trouble around here,” He said “Just all of you leave.” The terrified family drove away with their captor. The next day the couple and their two children were found murdered. Their bodies had been thrown into an abandoned well.
Their killer finally was brought to trial and convicted. Later the state tried the station owner and convicted him for his failure to notify authorities and perhaps to save the family.
The point
When a kidnapper held the Mosser family hostage, a store owner refused to call the sheriff, fearing trouble. The next day all four family members were found murdered in an abandoned well. The store owner was later convicted for his inaction. A sobering story about the duty to help others in distress.