
Housekeepers at an Alabama hotel thought something was off with a hotel guest and quickly saved the day. The employees helped an underage girl get out of 46-year-old Stephen Ayers’ room and contacted police. Officers from the Dothan Police Department arrived at the hotel in the 2100 block of Ross Clark Circle on January 26, 2025, after a call from staff about 1 p.m. about a potential kidnapping. What police learned was truly disturbing.
According to a police press release, the employees alleged that Ayers forced a white female younger than 18 into a room against her will. They knew something was wrong and stepped in to help. When police arrived, the man apparently didn’t want to talk. The hotel where the incident occurred has not been named.
More from CafeMom: Woman Claims She Drank From Water Contaminated by Employee’s Sperm at Ritz-Carlton Hotel
When police officers tried to contact the suspect, he ran away. “Officers were able to quickly surround him and take him into custody,” police shared in the statement.
Police learned that Ayers reportedly lived at the hotel and allegedly preyed upon his underage victim.
“It was discovered, after speaking with the victim, that Ayers had made sexual advances toward the victim, which she refused. Ayers then touched the victim inappropriately, and the victim tried to leave the area. Ayers then grabbed the victim from behind and forced her into a hotel room,” police reported in the statement.
More from CafeMom: 3-Year-Old Girl Nearly Drowns in Florida Motel Pool While Mom Is Off Partying
After Ayers’ arrest, people took to the police department’s Facebook page to thank the hotel employees who potentially saved the victim’s life.

One wrote, “Thank you to the hotel staff for saving her ! This is terrible! Praying for this girl. Thank you Dothan Police Department for the quick arrest ! Put him in jail and throw away the key!”
This person agreed, writing, “The house keeping employee that stepped up and spoke up and intervened deserves a hero award. Lord only know what would have happened.”
As did this person, who commented, “Good on those hotel employees. I hope they’re recognized for being vigilant and taking actions to help this girl.”
One person claimed to have interacted with Ayers not long before the alleged incident. “This man sat next to me in the ER a couple days ago. There were probably about 50 other seats other than next to mine,” the person shared. “Told me he was homeless and stuck there without a ride to the homeless shelter. Wanted to know if I could please give him a ride back to the homeless shelter which I did not, mainly because I could tell something was off with him.”
Police ultimately arrested Ayers, and he faces a charge of kidnapping in the first degree and sexual abuse in the first degree, according to the police statement. He was taken to Houston County Jail, where he remains without bond.
Dothan Police Chief William E. Benny said in the statement, “Crimes like these will not be tolerated. The Dothan Police Department will hold those who commit these crimes accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”