Teenager uses sword to capture escapee hiding in basement

SULLIVAN, Mo. -- Joshua Cary heard a noise in the family basement, grabbed a sword from his brother's collection, then went downstairs to investigate.

Pretty brave for a 14-year-old, and Joshua didn't mince words.

"I'm going to give you until the count of three to come out or I'm going to stab you," he yelled, according to his mother, Rebecca Cary.

Soon, a handcuffed man emerged, saying, "I didn't do it."

Joshua led the man at sword-point upstairs while his mother ran outside, where police were searching for a prisoner who had escaped earlier in the day. They took the man, Mark A. Brown, back into custody.

Joshua's brother is a soldier stationed at Fort Riley, Kan., awaiting deployment to Iraq.

Rebecca Cary said the swords are basically for decorations, but noted that her older son told Joshua he "needed to take care of his mom and sister, and he did."

The drama began about 1:30 p.m. as police in this town 50 miles southwest of St. Louis and officers from the Franklin County Sheriff's Department investigated motor vehicle thefts at an apartment complex. They questioned Brown, and discovered he was wanted by St. Louis County for a parole violation.

They handcuffed Brown and took him to the police department, but he broke away from officers and ran. For nearly two hours, they searched for Brown. Meanwhile, the Carys heard noises in the basement. They checked once and found nothing before Joshua checked again and found Brown.

Cary said she was proud of her son, who went out Thursday with friends for a celebratory night at the bowling alley.

"He's always been fearless," Cary said. "I hope he grows out of that soon."