By Janet C. Wetzel
Enquirer contributor

GERMANTOWN - Melissa Alexander didn't have to go on Survivor to find a national spotlight. It found her after a daring act of crime fighting.

Melissa Alexander lives with her family on a farm in Germantown. When three burglars broke into the garage, she acted out of instinct, chasing one of the men, leaping onto his back and bringing him to the ground. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

The 17-year-old single-handedly wrestled an intruder to the ground and hog-tied him with a horse lunge line. Since that event late last year, she's been on several national and local television shows, and her story has appeared in many publications.

It's still not over. She's featured in the April Reader's Digest in the Everyday Heroes section, and she's scheduled to be in the May edition of Cosmo Girl.

In January, the Valley View High School junior flew to New York to appear on the John Walsh Show, where she was given a hero medal. In December, she was CNN's Connie Chung's mystery person of the day, and featured on NBC's Today Show.

Melissa prefers her life of family, school, horses and dogs.

"I liked my life the way it was. This has been fun, but I just want to get back to normal now," she says.

The normalcy ended on a bitterly cold December night.

After her usual evening work in the stable, Melissa went to bed, only to be awakened about 3 a.m. by her cousin, Jennifer Alcorn, 21 who was staying with them. Alcorn had seen a vehicle at the end of the long driveway and thought she saw someone outside.

Melissa awoke her mother, Vickey Stanley. Her stepfather, Larry Stanley, was out of town.

Mrs. Stanley suggested they flip the outside lights on and off to scare off any would-be intruders. As Alcorn flipped the lights, they heard a noise in the garage.

With Alcorn behind her, Melissa hit the automatic garage door opener. Suddenly, they saw two figures running away from the house. Four vehicles had been ransacked, and Christmas gifts from one were piled on a trunk.

That made Melissa mad. She yelled for her mom, then as Alcorn ran to call the police, the 115-pound, 5-foot-5 Melissa, barefoot and clad only in thin pajamas, charged after the pair on the snow-covered lawn.

"I just took after them. As I ran, I remember thinking about my track training - elbows in, breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth," said Melissa who has run the 100- and 200-yard dashes and relays for her Spartans track team.

"At first I just reacted, then I felt furious, a sense of rage came over me that someone would violate our home."

She caught up with one man, about 9 inches taller and 30 pounds heavier than her, and tackled him.

"Don't even think about moving!" she snarled. He didn't.

Her mother came running with a horse lunge line, a 30-foot nylon cord with a small chain and hook used to train horses.

Melissa hogtied him. Police soon arrived, catching the other intruders. The two adults and one juvenile pleaded guilty to various charges.

Stanley called the actions of her daughter, who suffered minor injury to her ankle and pinkie knuckle, frightening, but not unexpected.

"Nothing surprises me with Melissa. It's an everyday adventure with her," said Stanley. Melissa, who says her career ambitions include veterinary medicine, modeling, acting or a combination, reflected: "I'd do it again. That's just me. I wanted to protect my family."

Do you know a Hometown Hero - someone in your community dedicated to making it a better place to live and helping others? E-mail Janet Wetzel at jjwetzel@siscom.net, or fax to 513-755-4150.