Guess we'll never know.

 

for whatever its worth, I agree about the starter. Ive had that happen many times before, most recently on my moms wagon. It did the same thing the OP daughter said, it made a weird noise and then after she shut it off (thankfully in our driveway) it wouldn't turn again. After dropping/replacing the starter (that is always my first 'go-to' guess when it comes to vehicles that won't start) it fired right up.

So go by what these other guys are saying, it could just be the starter bendix seized up in the flywheel. Nothing major, rather cheap to fix compared the 4k for a whole new motor or car. Couple hours of work and the end result is a running motor again.

 

Well it's taken awhile to get time to look at but have answer. The repair shop was a bunch of idiots. As a reminder, they first said battery but when replaced still did not work so they said they pulled the belt and tried to turn the crank and could not so it was a frozen engine. I asked if they checked starter and said was not the problem.

So yesterday, I jacked it up and crawled under and removed the starter/flywheel cover. The aluminum end of the starter housing was broke off and wedged between the flywheel teeth and motor. With a little work, I got it out. I'll replace the starter in the next week or 2 but I'm sure that was all it was. $150 starter not a $4,000 motor. Never, ever go back there again. My daughter just wanted to sell it for scrap but I told her wait til I check it, since if they said battery then motor, they can't be very good mechanics. Turns out they aren't. Thanks to all here for suggestions, etc.

 

You're welcome, glad it worked out well for you.
And darn, I was considering making you a low-ball offer on the car since it had a "seized" engine!