Three days after an assault, abduction and Amber Alert miraculously ended peacefully in Cottage Grove, family members are rallying around a mother who is still shaken to her core.
"She's just trying to get everything back together, which is kind of hard," said Julie Yang, the mother's sister.
On Monday, police returned the mother's van, which 24-year-old Jeffrey Lo allegedly used to hide inside and launch a surprise attack.
"We just got (the van) back less than an hour ago," Yang said. "As soon as she got it, she said, it's time to get rid of this car too many bad memories."
The final memory of the van, is also difficult for Cottage Grove resident, Christina Kelley, to shake.
"I cannot get it out of my mind," Kelley said.
Kelley noticed the van on her way to work at about 6:30 a.m. on Friday. It was stopped on Hadley Avenue South and she says a woman appeared to be frantically trying to open the side door.
"Once I stopped, the van took off and the woman ran towards me," Kelley said. "She was screaming, 'Help me! Help me! He just took my kids.' And she was covered in blood."
Kelley picked her up and as they drove in search of the van, she asked what happened.
"She said that she was hit in the head with a gun, and told to get out of the car," Kelley said. "So all I could think about was calling 911 and getting those kids back."
Though they could no longer see the van, Kelley quickly called 911.
"Officers were able to arrive to her within a minute of the call," said Cottage Grove Police Cheif, Pete Koerner.
Minutes after that, police initiated an Amber Alert. Later that morning, officers located the van, abandoned nearby. With the help of watchful neighbors, police narrowed their search and arrested Lo, while rescuing the children.
"So much relief. Stress came off my shoulders," Kelley said. "Just save those kids. That's all I cared about."
For that, a family is grateful.
"She was very helpful. Very glad that she helped," Yang said. "Very thankful. I'm very thankful that everybody tried to help."
Before Christina picked her up, the mother told her that she had tried to honk and scream to get other drivers' attention, but nobody stopped.
Cottage Grove police say they plan to honor Christina in the coming weeks for everything she did to help.