Rhode Island woman missing for days found by mechanic fixing his friend’s car
Savong “Sammy” Sam thought he was in for a quiet Sunday morning. The mechanic planned to wrench on a friend’s car parked outside his home in Cranston, Rhode Island. What he didn’t expect was to help save a life.
The vehicle had been sitting outside his house for days. When Sam popped the door open to get started, he noticed someone huddled in the backseat. “I thought it was a young boy playing hide and seek,” he said.
But it wasn’t a child. It was 54-year-old Linda DaLomba, a woman with developmental disabilities who had been missing for almost four days. Her disappearance sparked a massive search effort involving the FBI, Rhode Island State Police, Cranston officers, and several other departments.
Sam didn’t panic. He went inside, told his wife Cynthia, and they immediately called police.
This week, Cranston Mayor Kenneth Hopkins brought Sam in front of a crowd at City Hall to say thanks. “You saved Linda’s life,” the mayor said while handing him a special city citation. “Today, you are Cranston’s hero.”
Sam, who works as a diesel mechanic for the Cranston Fire Department, didn’t soak in the spotlight
“I don’t really have much to say,” he told ceremony attendees. “I was always taught to try and do the right thing.”
He wasn’t alone at the podium. His wife, three kids, and his father stood beside him. Sam also shared a little of his backstory: he was born in a Thai refugee camp for Cambodians before moving to the U.S. and eventually joining Cranston’s Public Works Department.
Mayor Hopkins also used the moment to announce a new legislative push: the “Linda Alert.” Similar to the Amber Alert system, it would use highway signs and public broadcasts to notify people when someone with disabilities goes missing.
“This could be something good that comes out of Linda’s ordeal,” Hopkins said. The Cranston Herald confirmed that DaLomba received medical care and returned safely to her residence.
Less than 10 minutes after the ceremony, Sam left the cameras behind and got back to turning wrenches in the service garage at Cranston Fire HQ.
