When The Waitress Sees The ‘message’ In The Order, She Instantly Calls The Police

Cheryl Treadway has been held hostage by her knife-wielding boyfriend, Ethan Earl Nickerson, for most of the day on Monday.

She had been threatened and held against her will in her own home, her phone taken from her so that she couldn’t call for help. Desperate to find a way out of the dangerous situation, Cheryl knew she had to be clever and think fast.

As the afternoon grew on, she persuaded Nickerson to let her order a pizza for dinner. He agreed, and Cheryl quickly placed the order online, including a plea for help in the notes section: ‘911 hostage help,’ she wrote, hoping that someone at the Pizza Hut would notice and call the authorities. Her plan worked.

Alarmed by the message, the employees at the Avon Park Pizza Hut called the Sheriff’s Office and reported the unusual request. When the police arrived at the Treadway home, Cheryl and one of her children greeted them at the door, while Nickerson was barricaded inside with the other two children. Lieutenant Curtis Ludden of the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office said that Nickerson appeared to be high on methamphetamine when they arrived.

After a tense standoff, Ludden was able to persuade Nickerson to surrender, and he was taken into custody. He was charged with aggravated assault with a weapon without intent to kill, battery, false imprisonment, and obstructing justice by depriving communication to law enforcement.

Cheryl and her children were all saved thanks to her quick thinking and bravery. She had managed to outsmart her captor and get the help she needed, all through the simple act of ordering a pizza. Lieutenant Ludden said of the incident, ‘I don’t know if I ever would have thought of it. I mean, it’s just something that she did so naturally.’ Cheryl’s message on the Pizza Hut order ended up being a lifeline, and her story serves as a reminder that help is always available, even in the most unexpected places.

That’s it for today, friends.