The Florida mum-of-three has made headlines all over the world after using an app to send an SOS message to rescue her and her children from her dangerous boyfriend.
The incident occurred at Cheryl’s home on Monday, where she had been arguing with her drug-addict boyfriend, Ethan Nickerson.
Cheryl was understandably terrified when Nickerson drew out a knife and began sharpening it in front of her, refusing to let her leave his sight or use a phone.
Eventually, Nickerson gave in to Cheryl’s request to order a pizza using Pizza Hut’s mobile phone app and, ordering a pepperoni pizza, she also added in a secret message that potentially saved her life.
The receipt from Cheryl’s order reads: “Please help. Get 911 to me. 911 hostage help!”
Staff at Cheryl’s local Pizza Hut store recognised her as a regular customer and, after seeing her desperate plea, contacted the county sheriff’s office.
Officers arrived at the house shortly after, with Cheryl proceeding to run out to them holding a baby in her arms.
Police managed to convince Nickerson to come out of the house, and he was taken into custody shorty after. The officers also safely removed two more children from the house. None of the children were harmed.
According to reports, Nickerson is a known meth-addict, and officers believe he may have been high on the drug at the time of the hostage.
Local police praised Cheryl’s quick thinking, while a staff member at Pizza Hut said the incident was the first of its kind in all her time at the store.
“We’ve never seen that before. I’ve been here 28 years and never, never seen anything like that come through,” said manager Candy Hamilton.
