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Solar panel worker credited with finding missing 5-year-old girl in Plymouth

Solar panel worker credited with finding missing 5-year-old girl in Plymouth
Solar panel worker credited with finding missing 5-year-old girl in Plymouth 00:57

PLYMOUTH -- Plymouth Police are thanking a solar panel worker for finding a missing five-year-old girl. Jake Manna stopped working when he heard the neighborhood was searching for the girl with autism. 

"Going down the river I saw a diaper and T-shirt floating. So I had thought the worst. My heart dropped and everything," Manna said. "I ran into the lake, and I caught her just in time. She was in the bushel, like the soupy mud, kind of waist deep and she was playing around in it."

The girl didn't respond to Jake's calls, so he waded into the water to grab the girl and carry her to safety. 

Police said Jake is unfamiliar with the area and the story could have ended differently had he not noticed the missing clothing.

"That girl had a guardian angel yesterday...and his name was Jake," Officer Vinnie Roth said. 

Officers gave Jake a special certificate to thank him.

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