On Christmas Eve, a woman posted a rather chilling status update on Facebook, saying “Hello… is anyone out there? I am having a serious problem and me and (my son) will be dead by morning.” Her friends, upon seeing the call for help, immediately informed the authorities of the situation. The woman, along with her 17-month old son, was quickly found by the officers thereafter.

It turns out that she and her son had been kidnapped by her abusive ex-boyfriend, Troy Reed Critchfield. He held them for five days in all, repeatedly sexually abusing her during the duration. He hit her and choked her when she tried to escape and confiscated her cell phone to cut off her means of communication with the outside world. Critchfield also threw her baby. Even the dog was not spared, as Critchfield refused to feed it for five whole days. It was only when the woman managed to hide in a closet and access her laptop that she was able to post the status update that saved her life.

When the police got to the scene, Critchfield was forced to allow policemen into the house. Upon securing the safety of the woman and her baby, Critchfield was taken into custody. He has been charged with suspicion of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, forcible sodomy, domestic violence in the presence of a child, child abuse, cruelty to animals, and damaging a communication device.

It’s really amazing to think that a simple status update had saved the lives of two people. However, she had already suffered five days in the hands of the kidnapper. Always keep your Smartphone and laptops handy – you just never know when they could help out in an emergency.