Rural Carrier Associate Michael Ressel was delivering mail on a recent cold day in Blair, WI, when he spotted a little girl wandering around outside alone.
He stopped to check on the shivering, half-dressed child, and she told him her mother had gone out the night before to get groceries, leaving her by herself.
The woman never came back, the girl said, and she was desperately looking for her.
Ressel put the child in his vehicle to warm up while he called police, then took her to a neighbor’s house and stayed there until officers arrived.
After he alerted Postmaster Andrew Stevens and gave a statement to police, Ressel continued on his route.
“This is a sad story, but it makes me proud to know I have employees who truly care about not only their jobs, but the communities they serve,” Stevens said.
“This could have ended very differently, and we are all proud of Mike’s actions,” he added.