Armed Miss America 1944 stops intruder

"There she is — Miss Intruder’s Nightmare
82-year-old Miss America 1944 shoots out car’s tires with her trusty .38"

Photo:Venus Ramey walks with her dogs Tuesday near her property in Waynesburg, Ky.

Updated: 6:33 p.m. MT April 20, 2007

WAYNESBURG, Ky. - Miss America 1944 has a talent that likely has never appeared on a beauty pageant stage: She fired a handgun to shoot out a vehicle's tires and stop an intruder.
Venus Ramey, 82, confronted a man on her farm in south-central Kentucky last week after she saw her dog run into a storage building where thieves had previously made off with old farm equipment.
Ramey said the man told her he would leave. "I said, 'Oh, no you won't,' and I shot their tires so they couldn't leave," Ramey said.

She had to balance on her walker as she pulled out a snub-nosed .38-caliber handgun.
"I didn't even think twice. I just went and did it," she said. "If they'd even dared come close to me, they'd be 6 feet under by now."
Ramey then flagged down a passing motorist, who called 911.

After winning the pageant with her singing, dancing and comedic talents, Ramey sold war bonds, and her picture adorned a B-17 that made missions over Germany in World War II, according to the Miss America Web site.


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