City Still Hasn’t Paid Man Who Found Abducted West Philly 5-Year-Old

To the finder goes the spoils. Or so Nelson Mandela Myers thought when he found a West Philadelphia five-year-old, abandoned in a playground near his house one morning. The girl had been abducted from her school and sexually assaulted. But despite the city’s promise of a $10,000 reward, Myers hasn’t received a dime yet.

In the meantime, not much has changed since Nelson was hailed as a hero. The couple still can’t afford a car and, since January, they’ve had to give up their cellphones and other luxuries so they can pay more important bills and take care of their foster children, Gary, 3, and Machia, 5, whom they are in the final stages of adopting. Nelson, 27, works six days a week as a sanitation worker in Norristown, sometimes pulling 10 to 12 hours a shift.

Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, who had promised the couple they’d receive their reward back in February, said she told Nelson and his wife to call the Police Commissioners Office to collect the reward. Not only is the reward supposed to come from the Mayor’s office, but Myers and his wife said they never received her call. The mayor’s spokesman has assured the Daily News, which broke the story, that the check is on the way. [Daily News]