By Sarah Begley
An 11-year-old Connecticut girl has helped catch the man who burglarized her home by drawing a stick figure picture of him for the police.
Rebecca DePietro, who was honored for her service in a ceremony on Thursday night, said police officers had asked her if she saw anyone suspicious in the neighborhood several months ago, NBC Connecticut reports. She said she had, and made a drawing of the man in two minutes. She didn’t think the cops would take it very seriously, but they say it helped them confirm the identity of the suspect, who has since confessed to 10 burglaries, including the one at DePietro’s home.
DePietro remains humble through it all: “I have to give a lot of credit to my art teacher,” she said.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Introducing the 2024 TIME100 Next
- The Reinvention of J.D. Vance
- How to Survive Election Season Without Losing Your Mind
- Welcome to the Golden Age of Scams
- Did the Pandemic Break Our Brains?
- The Many Lives of Jack Antonoff
- 33 True Crime Documentaries That Shaped the Genre
- Why Gut Health Issues Are More Common in Women
Contact us at letters@time.com