Melissa Nimerfroh was at home when she found out her son Chris was being held hostage inside the store he manages.
Melissa dropped everything and ran over to the RadioShack where she waited and prayed.
"I want him to know he's got family waiting to hear goodness," Melissa Nimerfroh said.
The suspense, fear, and stress of not knowing if Chris would make it out alive was overwhelming, not just for Melissa and her husband, but for Chris's ex-wife Rachel and their 5-year-old son Malikai.
"I turned on the news and it was his car parked right outside the door, so I knew it was him," Rachel Dean said.
The first thing that went through her mind was "will Malikai have a dad by the end of the day?"
"Just praying about it and knowing God is going to be there and He is there," Dean said.
After waiting for six hours, Rachel got a call from Melissa.
"He got out. He's ok. I'm going to go down there. We're going to take Malikai to see him," Dean said.
While Rachel got her son ready to see his dad, Chris's parents had a chance to be with him moments after the suspect let him go.
"He was worrying about mom. He says 'mom get a mask on,'" Melissa said.
Chris' mom is in the middle of her treatment for breast cancer. But, she didn't care. She had to be there for her son.
"He gave us a hug and broke down in tears," Melissa said. "He just prayed real hard, over and over and over. He wanted to see his son."
Friday afternoon those prayers were answered. Rachel and little Maliki were at the police station waiting for the moment they weren't sure they would ever have again.
"I do believe God had his hand in this whole thing, to make sure Chris was ok. We just can't wait to see him," Rachel said.
(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)