HIDALGO — Just one week ago today, Brianda Perez played in the field across from her home.

Her 4-year-old sister sat alone on a discarded tire near the street as the other kids continued to play.

The 12-year-old went over to her kid sister and told her to come join the others.

As she did, a man in a white pickup truck rolled to a stop and grabbed the 4-year-old. Brianda wrestled with the man as he tried to take off with her young sibling, but the man smacked Brianda on the head and she fell to the ground.

When police got there, Brianda was able to describe the man who snatched her sister - information that lead police to Christian McMillan and helped bring the 4-year-old home.

"It was horrible," Brianda said in an interview Monday morning as her little sister giggled and hugged her legs.

Just more than 24 hours after she was kidnapped, that sister was found at a desolate farmhouse north of Mercedes. McMillan was given criminal charges and remains behind bars.

Valley View school district officials gave Brianda a hero's coronation at an assembly Monday morning. The school district also honored local members of the FBI, the Texas Rangers, the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office and the Hidalgo Police Department for their hard work on the investigation.

But for most of the ceremony, it was Brianda's show.

Her instructors and classmates asked her what she wanted as a thank you gift for her valor.

So what did the 12-year-old, clad in glasses, ask for?

A set of contact lenses.

Brianda's humility seemed to show through at the assembly in her honor Monday morning.

As she sidled up to the podium before the roaring crowd of hundreds of teachers, local law enforcement officers and students, the modest Brianda could muster only a few words.

"Thank you all for coming," Brianda said as the assembly hall roared. "Thank you."
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Jared Taylor covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.