Most of us live in this bubble within our lives where we feel secure. We have our community which most of us see as safe, especially for those of us who live in military communities. We must keep our security bubble in check. Whether we are in our neighborhoods or outside of them, we must always be aware. In this article are two stories in which I felt my daughter was in danger by being approached.
Approached Near Home
Our Neighborhood
It was a beautiful night in our neighborhood. We lived in a court where all the kids would play and the parents would take turns looking out for all the kids. We knew each other so well that we even had a name for our group of houses. “Rad Sac Nation” was a community all of our own. We would help each other out, and on this particular night, we were having a cookout. The kids were running from one house to another. Some of the kids were inside homes playing video games, and we were all having a fun time. This went on throughout the day. As night approached the parents went in to grab a bite to eat since the kids had their fill.
The Man
I am not sure of all the details, however, it came to our attention that there was a stranger in our neighborhood. As one Mom was sitting outside her door, where no one could see her, she heard a voice that was unfamiliar talking next to her garage. The garage door happened to be open. She listened for a minute and decided to investigate. What she found was a strange man talking to my daughter. She asked if she could help him with something. He said “No!” nervously, then walked off down the entrance to our neighborhood. There was only one way in and one way out. When he had reached the end of the street, he put his hands in the air and swirled them around in a big circle. It was strange, however, we didn’t think much of it.
As concerned parents, we asked my 7-year-old daughter what he was talking to her about. She told us that he was asking for an address. This address was nowhere in all of the neighborhoods around us. It seemed strange to ask a little girl this question at night, and then when an adult asked, the person walked off. This triggered a response to call the police.
The Police
One officer showed up and started asking my daughter questions. She was able to describe what the man was wearing, the color of his hair, and even his eye color. Another office approached, grabbed the details of the person, and went to search. Unfortunately, he did not find him.
As we talked to the officers and made our report, the first officer on the scene told us that he may have had someone else with him who may have picked him up. She also told us that it is not uncommon for perpetrators to make signals to their partners.
This is where I became aware of how big child trafficking is! It was now real!
Almost Approached At Walmart
As my daughter and I were walking out of Walmart for our yearly supplies, I decided that we were going to walk on the sidewalk instead of the parking lot to get to our car. As we were walking, my daughter was the closest to the street, which I do not usually do. On this occasion, we were just in our heads.
Mom’s Instincts
When they tell you that a mother’s instincts are most of the time correct, I am sure that they were on this day. Something made me look and I knew something was not right.
Cars were going at normal speed through the parking lot except for this one car that sped towards us, and as it came very close, it slowed down and started to follow us as we were on the sidewalk. I was not about to cross, so there was no need for the driver to slow down. As I look over, I instruct my daughter to get on the other side of me and move closer to the building. There were three males in the car, one who was in the front seat looked as if he was about to open his door. Of course, this was going so quickly as this was all happening, but I looked at the man, then the driver and they sped off at more than normal speed.
I am not sure if this could have been a possible issue but the mother in me felt something was off. Even though my daughter was about 13 at the time, which would not have been easy to get into a car, I don’t put it past people to try.
Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is a $150 Billion problem in this world. We don’t think much about it until we are touched by it in one way. As I lived in Hawaii during the first encounter, I learned that it takes 40 minutes for traffickers to abduct and ship a person. This is true for most port cities. This is quite scary for me. California which is where the second approach happened, has one of the highest trafficking rates in the US. Though the average age of children who are trafficked is between the ages of 12-17, no age is off limits for traffickers. That goes for babies and adults as well.
To Report:
If you or someone else is in immediate danger: Please call 911 or your local police
To report a crime or to talk to someone about a crime: Call 800-656-HOPE (4673)
To make a report online or learn more: https://www.rainn.org/ or https://ourrescue.org/
For more information, please click the National Center For Missing & Exploited Children, Operation Underground Railroad, and the Department Of Homeland Security. There are many other sites you may visit as well.
A Friendly Note
If you feel something is off when you are with your children or the children you are taking care of, please stop and assess why you are feeling this way. I believe this is God talking to us. Do not dismiss a feeling that there is something wrong.
Please read Teens: The Little Monsters That Hides.
Have you had your children approached? Would you like to share your story, please send me a message via the contact page or leave me a message on my Instagram