PUEBLO- Just hours after 9-year-old Calysta Cordova arrived home from escaping her abductor, her parents are speaking out.
"She is doing wonderful, she is happy to be home," Cordova's father, Steven Ryno said.
The young girl laughed and smile as she read the names of people who signed a 'welcome home' banner that hung in her yard. But the bruises on her face and two black eyes were a reminder of the abuse and trauma Calysta experienced.
Denver psychologist, Dr. Larry Curry, says the girl has herself and her parents to thank for her actions that saved her life.
"They prepared her - from day one they talked about the 'what if' scenario. They gave her an opportunity to practice with them," Curry said.
Curry says Calysta came home because of her smart and quick thinking. After the girl and the alleged suspect, Jose Garcia, got into a car accident in the mountains, they hitched a ride to a gas station in Colorado Springs. Police say as soon as the car pulled up, the girl ran inside the Circle K and called for help. It was a move Curry says is beyond the girl's years.
"She has enough insight to know she was in a public place and this was a good time to plan her exit and escape, " Curry said.
It is a scenario Calysta's parents say they've always tried to prepare her for and a lesson they home all parents can learn from.
(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)
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