2010-08-03 Gary Carner

Grandmother Killed While Saving Child During Amarillo-Area Kidnapping Spree

A 63-year-old Oklahoma woman was killed while protecting her granddaughter during a violent kidnapping spree west of Amarillo on August 3, 2010.

The series of attacks began at approximately 8:55 p.m., when 58-year-old Gary Carner attempted to abduct a 31-year-old woman at gunpoint near 34th Avenue and Soncy Road. The woman knocked the gun from his hand and escaped. She gave police a description of Carner, his pickup and its license plate.

About 10 minutes later, Potter County deputies were dispatched to the Love’s Travel Stop at 14701 Interstate 40 West.

Sharrell Blankenbaker of Felt, Oklahoma, had stopped there while driving home after picking up her grandchildren, 12-year-old Cassidy Blankenbaker and Cassidy’s 16-year-old brother, from the Amarillo airport.

Cassidy later recalled that Carner gave her a disturbing smile inside the store. When the family left, Carner pulled his truck in front of them, got out with a gun and grabbed Cassidy by the arm.

Blankenbaker stepped between the gunman and her granddaughter. According to Cassidy, Carner asked her grandmother whether she wanted to die before shooting her.

The intervention allowed Cassidy to break free and run. Blankenbaker died while being transported to the hospital.

Carner fled and abducted an 11-year-old girl at gunpoint several blocks away. He sexually assaulted the child as he drove away, but she escaped by jumping from the moving pickup.

At approximately 9:24 p.m., Potter County deputies spotted Carner’s vehicle on Blessen Road. Carner turned onto Jim Line Road and drove directly toward a deputy who had stepped from his patrol car while attempting to stop the truck.

When Carner refused to slow down, the deputy fired several shots. One struck Carner, who was later pronounced dead.

In less than an hour, authorities said Carner committed a murder, two attempted aggravated kidnappings, an aggravated kidnapping and an aggravated sexual assault. Investigators never determined what prompted the attacks. Carner had no known criminal record before the crime spree.

A Potter County grand jury later reviewed the deputy’s use of deadly force and cleared him of wrongdoing. The deputy returned to duty.

Cassidy later began wearing her grandmother’s wedding rings around her neck in remembrance of the woman who died saving her life.