A couple of weeks ago I had an experience with my youngest daughter that lasted all of ten seconds but still continues to make me physically ill when I truly think about it. I keep replaying the moments in my head, hoping that I misunderstood the situation, but something tells me that I’m not.
I believe I witnessed my precious baby nearly become abducted at the park not even five feet away from me.
Now before I provide you further details I would like you to know a bit about me. I’m what most people call laid back, I don’t worry over many things and I am drawn much more to the free range than attached parenting style. So for me to share this with you is not to scare anyone into thinking this is something you will likely ever experience in your lifetime, but for me, I realized that it isn’t a complete impossibility as I previously thought.
My two girls, ages five and 15 months, and I went to the park one Sunday morning. It was one of those rare cool Dallas mornings-in the mid 80s and while I expected the park to be extremely crowded, I was surprised to find it wasn’t. We enjoyed a delicious food truck lunch prior heading to the children’s area to splash in the water.
To help illustrate my story, I have a picture I took earlier from an angle opposite of where I was during the occurrence-the arrow on the left is where I was sitting and the arrow on the right is where my girls were playing. Two other people were standing in the space between us but I could clearly see both of my girls and was just beyond arms reach of them.
At one point, I found myself thinking how difficult it was to watch both girls at the same time and made a mental note not to return to this park without my husband. I have always spoken highly of intuition, and it didn’t fail me this time because I found myself purposely putting my phone on the bottom of my bag so I wouldn’t be tempted to look at it.
I can’t stress enough what happened next lasted less than ten seconds, but each one of them replay in my head as if they were five minutes each. I remember seeing a woman with dark hair and sunglasses so large they were covering her entire face look down at my daughter and pick her up, holding her close to her body. She quickly turned and started walking towards the exit but only had time to take five steps before I heard the word, “Ma’am!!!” escaping from my mouth loudly. She turned and looked down at me, seemingly surprised that I was her mother, placed her down in front of me and just stammered, “It is too hot for her to be standing there.”
I scooped my daughter up into my arms, holding her tight and started shaking. I looked over to where she had just been standing extremely confused because she was standing in a shaded area. Just as it hit me what I may have just prevented from happening, my older daughter ran over to me and wanted to know why that woman picked up her sister. I looked up to see who this woman was but she had completely disappeared.
I spoke with park personnel and advised them of what happened, they thanked me for providing the information and said that they did have specific protocol and procedures for these types of concerns. That did make me feel better, but quite honestly, in this circumstance if I hadn’t been paying direct attention to my daughter she would have been gone.
I can’t stress enough that I am not writing this to say this will happen to you, as it probably won’t. The likelihood of a random abduction is strikingly improbable, but it does happen. I feel compelled to share my story because while the “what if’s” continue to haunt me, I feel very fortunate that is the only thing that remains and would never want another mother to wonder what if she had just been paying attention.
I have been to that park and the splash area. I’m not a crazy helicopter mom either, but like you said, in a blink of an eye my son dashed. I was with another mom and her daughter and I panicked because the place was soo full. I found my son in the “spiderweb” area playing with other kids he had been running back and forth, but it was a terrifying experience.
Usually when I’m out with the boys I have my phone in hand to take pictures for for the most part my eyes are on them. I’m so glad you were able to stop this from happening, I can’t even imagine.
Thank you so much for sharing this. This is such a frightening experience and it reminds us to constantly be vigilant.
Wow, this made me sick to my stomach. Ugh! Thank you for creating awareness.
I’m literally shaking based off the picture you provided I know the park you speak of and have sat in likely the exact spot as you a dozen times. My husband and I go here often with are two kids and try to give them space to play but often find it difficult to keep track of both. Thank goodness this just turned into a what could have been!
No words can describe how scared were and likely still are! Way to follow your intuition and let’s hope this lady is caught soon! So disgusting that people could even contemplate such an act!
Wow! What a wake up call! I will certainly be thinking of your story the next time I take my twin grandkids to the park.
Years ago, my neighbor was in a store, holding her infant daughter who was crying. She was trying to pick out craft project items for a class she was teaching. A woman came up to her, and took her daughter out of her arms to “comfort her,” then started walking away. She was at the end of the aisle before my neighbor could react. Fortunately, a store worker came around the corner at that point and the woman had to “dance” around her, but that gave my neighbor enough time get moving and catch up w/ the woman and get her daughter back. The woman left the store. Like you, it took her a few moments after it all happened, in LESS than 10 seconds, to fully comprehend what had just happened.
Thank you for sharing your story. My mother in law always takes my kids there. I’m one of those mother’s who is literally behind them because I don’t trust no one around them. In my mind we are here to have a good time and not go to the park and some accident happened where we are rushed to the hospital or someone takes one of my kids and I’m going ballistic. I will share this with my mother in law. Thank you again..
I also find it difficult to keep an eye on two kids at the park running different directions. If it’s too crowded, I end up leaving.
It was incidents like that which caused me to build a playground in my back yard. You cannot undo anything a creep does to your child. So sad….the loss of carefree childhoods.