The mother of a woman whose overdose death in New York City spurred a rescue attempt by three people arrested with a cache of weapons near the Holland Tunnel says the suspects are heroes for trying to help.

Vehicles enter the Holland Tunnel. (Photo by Preston Rescigno/Getty Images)
Vehicles enter the Holland Tunnel. (Photo by Preston Rescigno/Getty Images)
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John Cramsey, Dean Smith and Kimberly Arendt, all from Pennsylvania, were arrested June 21 as they prepared to enter the tunnel in a truck carrying weapons including a semi-automatic military-style rifle, a shotgun and five handguns.

Cramsey had posted online he was heading to New York to "rescue" a 16-year-old girl whose friend had overdosed.

Mandy Powell, of Glen Lyon, Pennsylvania, has identified her daughter, 20-year-old Sierra Schmitt, as the overdose victim. She tells The Citizens' Voice of Wilkes-Barre, "They are heroes, not convicts."

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