An Iowa child is being hailed as a hero after secretly slipping a note to their school bus driver that read, “Call 911” — a desperate act that authorities say led to the rescue of the child’s mother, who was allegedly being held against her will inside their home.

According to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, the incident unfolded early Wednesday morning, September 24, just before 7:30 a.m., when the child — a first grader — boarded the bus in the rural town of Westgate and quietly handed the handwritten plea for help to the driver. The driver immediately contacted law enforcement, setting off a rapid police response.

When deputies arrived at the family’s home, they discovered the child’s mother in a dire state. Investigators say she had been attacked and restrained by 29-year-old Glenroy Miller, a Bahamian national. Authorities allege Miller assaulted the woman repeatedly through the night, at one point kicking her so forcefully that she sustained two broken ribs and a punctured lung.

Sheriff’s officials confirmed that the victim had been unable to seek help directly, fearing retaliation if she made a call in front of her alleged captor. Instead, she scrawled the urgent message on paper and entrusted it to her young child, who carried it onto the bus that morning.

Miller was arrested at the scene without further incident. Court documents show he now faces multiple felony charges, including armed kidnapping, willful injury, domestic abuse assault with intent to inflict serious injury, and obstruction of emergency communications. Public arrest records indicate he is being held on a $1,500 bond, though federal immigration authorities have also placed a detainer on him.

Officials say the woman was hospitalized for her injuries and is expected to recover. The child, whose name is being withheld because of age, is safe and in protective care.

The case has shocked the small Fayette County community, but it has also drawn attention to the extraordinary bravery shown by a child barely old enough to read and write. Law enforcement officials credited the first grader’s quick thinking and the bus driver’s immediate response with preventing what could have become an even greater tragedy.

“This child’s courage in such a terrifying situation saved a life,” one investigator told reporters.

The investigation is ongoing, and prosecutors are preparing to pursue charges against Miller in state court. Meanwhile, the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office has emphasized the importance of vigilance in recognizing subtle pleas for help — even when they come from the unlikeliest sources.