The subtle signal kidnapped mum used to alert people walking past she was in danger
A mother and her son who were kidnapped managed to escape unharmed after the woman mouthed "help me" to employees inside a US store.
Police say Christopher Hahn-Collins, 25, broke into the family home and held the mother and her son hostage at knifepoint overnight.
The mum managed to convince Hanh-Collins to take them to Dick's Sporting Goods, a store in Oregon, US publication AOL reports.
Once at the store, the mother began signalling to customers and employees that she was in trouble by mouthing the words "help me".
It didn't take long for people to cotton on with several calls made to emergency services.
Police arrived on the scene and arrested Hahn-Collins.
One customer on the scene said the mother was "so calm".
“Oh my gosh, she stayed so calm, thinking to mouth ‘help me,’ and I’m so glad that people paid attention to her — because nowadays, people might walk right past you," she told American broadcaster KGW.
Hahn-Collins is now in custody and facing several charges for past alleged crimes, in addition to this one.
Marion County Sheriff's Office Lieutenant Chris Baldridge said police "commend her".
"We have to commend her because how brave is that? She did a great job of keeping this man calm and getting herself in a position where she could get help," he said.
Police said they don't believe Hahn-Collins knew the woman or child before kidnapping them.
