Convicted sex offender Paul S. Smith, the man who allegedly abducted Alisa Maier, shot and killed himself yesterday when approached by police. When Alisa saw his picture on TV, she said, "That's the man who cut my hair, Daddy." (Maier's kidnapper had cut her hair to look like a boy's to throw off authorities.)

For more than 24 hours, no one knew if Alisa was dead or alive -- until Tuesday night, when the suspect dropped her off at a car wash hours away from her home unharmed.

In 1995, Smith was convicted of sodomizing a 10-year-old boy not far from where Alisa was abducted this week. When officers approached him yesterday on a desolate farm, he was spray-painting his car. He shot and killed himself without making a statement.

This story has certainly made us hold our kids a little tighter over the past few days. We're happy that Alisa is home safe with her parents now, where she belongs.