When sisters 11-year-old Tori and 13-year-old Carly of Southlake, Texas, considered what to do with their afternoon on Jan. 19, the gutsy girls decided a local adventure was in order.
According to a post by the Southlake DPS, the two girls apparently had a case of cabin fever after making it to the last days of a two-week quarantine, and needed some excitement.
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Southlake DPS did commend the girls for turning their attention outdoors instead of zoning out in front of screens, but they also made sure to post the story and its amusing results publicly.
“That’s right!” they wrote in a post detailing the rescue they were eventually called out for. “We’ve got some good old fashioned amazing pre-teens here, thrilled to explore the outdoors and see nature instead of TikToking or vegging on the couch watching MrBeast on YouTube.”
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The sisters spotted a drainage pipe and thought, why not? So Tori started crawling.
All was well until Tori turned around to make her return trip. Looking up, she spotted a large black snake. It was Texas, after all, but Tori wisely decided to exit the other way, out the other end of the storm drain.
“I made it to the center,” Tori later told KXAS-TV. “I thought that I could just go out the other tunnel since there are two ways out … And immediately saw another snake.”
Wouldn’t you know, there was another snake waiting for her. She was trapped, and the reality of her situation dawned on her — all the worse because, as her mother told KXAS, crawling through storm drains is something they know better than to do.
“At one point Carly hissed to Tori to ‘just close your eyes and crawl under it before mom finds out,’ which made Tori burst into tears and come to a conclusion that a confession was the final option,” Southlake DPS’s post continued.
“Carly then high-tailed it in the house, leaving poor Tori alone with the company of some new friendsssssssssss. The decision had been made that the snakes were scarier than mom’s wrath.
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“Mom came out, failed at lifting the heavy heavy grate, and she gave Tori the option to crawl past a snake (either/or, dealer’s choice) or call the Southlake Police and Fire Departments to rescue her. She chose Southlake Police and Fire, baby.
“We were there in minutes and after about 90 seconds, we got the grate off. Mom documented the whole experience with photos, which she kindly shared with us.”
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Southlake DPS’s post has been shared hundreds of times, with many commenting on the story to express their appreciation of the story and the admittedly daring girl’s predicament.
The snakes were also later identified as rat snakes — harmless, but imposing.
“Snake People — no snakes were harmed!” the post concluded. “Southlake citizens — we’re always here for you in a quick and timely matter, no matter what! Be safe today in Southlake and beyond!”
Mom Nikki Stovall was thankful for the first responders’ help.
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“Just needed a few big, strong, you know, heroes and they just flipped that thing right open and yanked her right out,” she told KXAS.
“I’m not impressed they made the decision to go wander in there but, you know, I’m proud of them for problem-solving,” she added.
As for Tori, she’ll leave storm drains alone for the foreseeable future.
“I’m just glad I’m still not under there near a snake,” Tori said. “No, I will not go under there again.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
