Working in a shift
One of the chefs working at Florida Pizza Hut that Monday was Alonia Hawk. Hawk performed on her shift like any other day and she was busy taking orders and kneading dough, spreading sauce, putting cheese in, and adding extra toppings to every pizza.
Things were looking up and the orders kept coming in, but an order that came in around 3:40 p.m. was going to make her stop what she was doing.
Running after school
While filling out the orders, Hawk recognized the name and address of a regular customer with whom she was very familiar. This branch was used to serving regular customers, especially at this time of day, because it was the after-school rush hour and parents tried to feed their children after they came home from school.
Pizza is an easy option for busy parents because it’s a food that the whole family loves—adults and kids alike. But this order was about to become anything but regular.
Regular customer
Before fulfilling orders, Hawk would always check for orders like extra toppings, including cheese or mushrooms or special delivery instructions. And this one was just like any other order because even though the customer was a regular, Hawk still made sure to check the comments and notes section, as he always did.
But Hawk was about to see that it was no ordinary request from a regular customer. There was something different about this pizza.
Place an order
The address belonged to Cheryl Treadway, who was a regular customer and mother of three. Treadway placed an order for a small pepperoni pizza through Pizza Hut’s online app, and Hawk was ready to start ordering.
But as she looked at the reviews, the Pizza Hut employee saw something that made her take a second look. Mom left special instructions in the comments section and ingredients that were very unusual.
Pepperoni Pizza
This was no ordinary order, as Hawk began to read the comments, his day changed completely. The Pizza Hut employee had never seen comments like these before and after reading them she got scared and went to get help from her manager.
“I was kind of scared. I was scared of the person,” Hawk shared with Tampa affiliate CBS 10News. So what were the comments and why was Hawk so terrified that he had to ask the manager for help?
Special Comments
As soon as Hawk saw the comments, she was worried, but she had to keep up with the rush of delivery. So, she sent a server to find the manager. Candy Hamilton, the restaurant manager was cleaning up outside and as soon as the waiter showed her the message Treadway left with her delivery, she sprang into action.
Without hesitation, she contacted her boss and 911 for help. Hamilton knew this was serious and that she needed to act quickly.
Getting in on the Action
Hamilton had been at Pizza Hut for nearly 30 years, but this was the first time she had experienced something like this and it needed to be taken seriously. The manager recognized what was happening and she needed to think fast.
Although it was the first time Hamilton had dealt with something like this, she didn’t hesitate to get in on the action. “I’ve been with the company for 28 years and I’ve never seen anything like this,” Candy Hamilton, manager of Pizza Hut, told ABC News. “We didn’t even question it, we immediately called 911.”
The request
Each ticket had an area where customers could write special requests, but Treadway’s was different—its instructions couldn’t be ignored. She wasn’t just asking for extra toppings or for her pizza to be nicely baked.
Treadway wrote on his small pepperoni pizza order, “Please help. Call 911 for me. 911 help hostage! How scary! Although this was an ordinary Monday for this Pizza Hut, for Treadway it was nothing, she was in a hostage experience, fighting for her life.
Ask for help
Thanks to chef Alonia Hawk’s attentiveness and manager Candy Hamilton’s quick response, help was on the way. In just a few minutes, what probably seemed like a lifetime to Treadway and her children who were being held hostage, police officers, including Lt. Curtis Ludden, arrived at her home.
And Ludden wasn’t just any lieutenant – it was fate that he worked that shift and Treadway was about to find out why.
Lieutenant Ludden
Lieutenant Ludden was the shift commander that day at the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office and was also a negotiator. It was nothing less than fate that he was working that Monday afternoon shift. “Lieutenant Ludden is a negotiator and is the head of our team of crisis negotiators,” public information officer Nell Hays told ABC News.
“It just so happened that he was the one who was on duty that night.” When officers arrived at the scene, they didn’t know what to expect, and de-escalating the situation wasn’t easy.
Dire situation
Now that the police were at her home, Treadway was ready to let them know exactly what was going on and why she put the message hostage to Pizza Hut.
“She reported to officers that her boyfriend, Ethan Nickerson, was at home armed with a knife and that her other two children were also at home with him,” authorities shared with CNN affiliate WFLA.
Huge Argument
The 25-year-old mother had a big argument with her boyfriend of 26 years, Ethan Nickerson, earlier in the day. And this wasn’t just an argument because Nickerson was actually sharpening a knife in front of her and threatening her life.
Before she knew it, Treadway was at knifepoint from her boyfriend. He was holding her hostage and even took her phone from her. But that wasn’t the only thing mom had to worry about — it was time to pick up the kids from school.
School day
The school day was almost over and it was time for Treadway to pick up her kids. Could this be the excuse she needed to escape the scary situation? When she went to pick up the kids from school, Nickerson grabbed her and wouldn’t let her leave the house.
Eventually, he joined her and went along with her to pick up the kids. So, they went to pick them up and when the five of them returned home, things weren’t much better – she was still being held hostage and what’s worse is that the kids were now involved.
Coming home
The couple was now home with their three children, but when they arrived, Nickerson wouldn’t let the mother or children go. Now, she wasn’t the only one hostage – her children were now involved and she needed to find a way to free them.
That’s when she had a genius idea that would change the family’s destiny. She told her boyfriend that the kids were hungry and since he had taken her phone, she asked if she could use her phone to place a pizza order through an app.
Hungry children
Treadway convinced her boyfriend to let her use a phone and she came up with the perfect idea – she would order pizza and leave a special note in the comments section that would save her life! She had to think fast and make sure Nickerson wouldn’t notice while she was ordering the pepperoni pizza.
In the instructions, she wrote: “Please help. Call 911 for me. 911 help hostage! And now that Pizza Hut had seen the message and called the police, what would come next for the mother of three?
Great escape
Not long after the officers arrived at her home and she explained the situation to the police, they were able to escort her and her baby out peacefully. After being held hostage for many hours, they finally managed to escape.
But there were still two children in the house held hostage by Nickerson and things were not going to be easy for him to get out and rescue them. Nickerson needed to be persuaded to leave the house and tensions were high because he was armed with a knife.
Hostage Negotiations
Treadway and her baby were released, but there were still two children held hostage in the house and Nickerson refused to leave. Lieutenant Ludden began negotiating with Nickerson, but he refused to leave. He told authorities through the door that he didn’t want to go to jail.
“His first words were, of course, ‘I’m not going to come out because I know I’m going to jail,'” Ludden told WFLA. And though Nickerson was reluctant to come out, something would soon happen that was about to change that.
Taking it down
After 20 minutes and much negotiation, Lieutenant Ludden was finally able to convince Nickerson, who was still armed with a knife, to surrender. Eventually, Nickerson agreed to leave the house and left peacefully.
Since he was no longer at home, there was still one more thing to do – Treadway’s two children were there while the negotiations were going on because they couldn’t escape with their mother or brother. They still needed to be released.
Free at last
After Nickerson’s departure, his other two children were taken from the home and both were unharmed. The hostage negotiations took some time and we can’t even begin to imagine how terrifying the experience was for Treadway and his children. But this was the best possible outcome in a very scary situation.
They all left the house safely and unharmed. While things couldn’t have gone any better during the negotiation, the police still weren’t done with Nickerson. What would come next for Treadway’s boyfriend?
Facing charges
Now that Treadway and her three children were safe and sound and Nickerson had left home, the authorities could take care of him. He was arrested and charged with “aggravated assault with a weapon, assault, kidnapping, and obstruction of justice.” He was also held on $45,000 bail, according to ABC News.
After arresting Nickerson, authorities discovered he might have been drugged while holding his family hostage, as they shared with WFLA. But that’s not all they learned.
Past Chess
After his arrest, authorities also discovered that Nickerson had a long history with law enforcement. He was well known in the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office. Since 2007, Nickerson has had several run-ins with the law and has faced several charges.
Some of the many charges he faced include assault on law enforcement, assault, public intoxication, DUI, forgery, vehicle theft and property damage, according to records obtained by the Daily Mail.
Quick Thinking
Lieutenant Ludden couldn’t overcome Treadway’s quick thinking during the life-or-death experience. “I don’t know if I would have thought of that,” Ludden told WFLA while talking about Treadway’s special message on Pizza Hut’s order. “I mean, it’s just something she did so naturally.
The boyfriend never knew about it until he saw us around the corner.” But it wasn’t just Treadway’s quick thinking that impressed the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office—Sheriff Susan Benton couldn’t beat the quick thinking of Pizza Hut employees.
Pizza Hut Review
Sheriff Benton couldn’t believe how quickly Pizza Hut employees sprang into action to save Treadway and her three children and she couldn’t wait to thank them for protecting the family. “First of all, thank you.
But secondly, you know we all need to protect each other and we are grateful that all of you and your staff are mindful of the needs of this victim,” Sheriff Benton told Pizza Hut manager Candy Hamilton during *The Daily Share*. While Hamilton enjoyed the sheriff’s praise, she couldn’t get over the sheriff’s department’s quick response.
Taking control
Pizza Hut manager Candy Hamilton saw the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office and Cheryl Treadway as the true heroes in this hostage situation. “I think the same thing about the sheriff’s department because, like I said, it was only a matter of minutes before they were here and there were multiple deputies, not just one, so they’re the heroes and you’re the heroine in my book.
Because they were the ones who took control of the situation,” Hamilton told The Daily Share. Hamilton was especially impressed with Treadway’s creative thinking throughout the ordeal.
True Hero
There were many people involved who helped ensure a peaceful end to this hostage situation and the manager of Pizza Hut couldn’t overcome Treadway’s quick thinking during the crisis period. “[Treadway is] the hero in this situation,” Hamilton told ABC News. “She just thought outside the box…
I think that’s awesome. I’m just amazed.” While Hamilton may think Treadway was the hero, it was the manager who didn’t hesitate to take action after seeing the message on the order. But did she ever think the situation was a silly prank?
Silly prank?
As soon as Hamilton saw the special message on the pizza order, she sprang into action, but did she ever think it was fake? “Well, it’s been commissioned from us in the past. We’ve delivered to her in the past.
But no, at no point did I think about it because usually people aren’t going to play with the 911 and we just acted on it,” Hamilton said on The Daily Share when asked if she thought it could have been someone else playing. a catch. But that’s not the only reason she thought it couldn’t be fake.
No error
Cheryl Treadway didn’t just leave one message on the order — she left two. Along with the request for a small pepperoni pizza, the mom wrote, “Please help. Call 911 for me. 911 help hostage! Hamilton knew this was not a mistake and that she needed to act quickly.
“She edited it twice, so it wasn’t a mistake the first time, she did it twice,” Hamilton explained in The Daily Share.
Happy Ending
Cheryl Treadway faced the fight of her life while being held hostage by her boyfriend Ethan Nickerson and due to quick thinking and a request from Pizza Hut, she managed to bring a peaceful end to a terrible ordeal.
This happy ending would not have been possible without Treadway, Pizza Hut employees, and the Highlands County Sheriff’s Office working together to de-escalate a hostage situation. They were all heroes in our books. Without the concerted effort of all these people who took care of each other and acted quickly, this happy ending would not have been possible.
