Awesome - Young Girl Avoids Kidnap Attempt by Using Code Word Mom Taught Her
Every parent worries about their child. As your child grows up and starts to walk to school on their own, there are specific rules that need to be taught. Stranger danger is one of the biggest ones. Lots of children tend to be trusting, and when a stranger who appears kind offers them a ride home, it might seem completely innocent. That’s why parents have to ingrain in their kids that they should always say no to anything from a stranger, no matter how kind they appear to be. For one little girl, she remembered this rule, and that is what prevented her from being caught in a bad situation.
Meet Maddison Raines
The little girl who knew something fishy was up, was none other than Maddison Raines. She was used to her older brother coming to get her when she finished school for the day. Normally, she would head out of the front doors of the building and then wait on the curb until he pulled up.
Her parents would leave a message with her teacher if one of them was collecting her. That day though, she had received no message, and her brother was nowhere to be seen.
A Vulnerable Time
With school out for the day and no ride in sight, Maddison decided to go for a walk with her friends. It was not unusual for them to head to the park and play for a few minutes while they waited. As Maddison went over the swings, she noticed a truck in the distance.
It seemed as if the driver was waiting for someone. When the driver saw Maddison look up, the man at the wheel began beckoning for her to come towards the vehicle. She did not recognize him, but he seemed to recognize her, which was strange.
Stranger Danger
Maddison and her family had lived in the San Tan Valley community of Arizona for a number of years. The neighborhood was known for being a safe one, with the crime rate being relatively low. However, her parents were still cautious, and made sure that Maddison knew what protocols to follow should a stranger approach her.
At the tender age of 10, Maddison was starting to grow into herself and become more involved in the school. Her parents were never that concerned with strangers approaching her in a neighborhood known to have a strong sense of community and safety.
A Mother’s Concern
Brenda James, Maddison’s mother, had her own brush with stranger danger when she was younger. That was why she was more cautious than some of the other mothers in the neighborhood. She had never shared what had happened to her, but when she began to see a number of articles concerning child kidnappings, she knew it was time to teach her own children about some of the less nice ways of the world.
With Maddison being so young, she knew that she could potentially be a target for someone looking to abduct a child. She did not want her to be a victim.
Teachable Moments
The experience that Brenda had when she, as a child, began to shape how she raised her own children, particularly Maddison. She wanted to teach her about how some men or women may approach her. Anything is teachable, and avoiding strangers is one of them.
Slowly, Brenda began to work out a stranger danger curriculum, which she hoped would keep Maddison, and her siblings out of the hands of anyone looking to do them harm. These lessons are what would alert Maddison to the fact that something was not right about this mystery driver. Brenda was very smart to teach her children these safety tools.
Statistics
Unfortunately, around 1,600 abductions take place a year. Some of these are successful, and other times the kidnapper or kidnappers are caught. The most vulnerable time for children is when they are on their way to or coming home from school.
This is a time when parents are less likely to be around, and children are left unattended for a time. That’s why most children will have a buddy type system in place to protect them.
School Age Children
If you look at the statistics provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), you will see that children who are daycare age tend not to be the subjects of kidnapping. Babies and toddlers are often always with their parents, which makes them harder to approach.
Children who are five and older tend to be enrolled in school and be seen on their own more often than those that are younger. That is why there is a higher rate of kidnapping amongst them than the younger ones.
Educate Children
If you are a parent or have younger siblings, you may want to educate yourself regarding scenarios in which children are kidnapped. Most of the time, these are easily preventable. Children must always be accompanied to and from school with an adult.
They must never play alone in public areas like parks, and parents or a responsible adult should know where their children are at all times. Children must also be taught always to be wary of strangers.
Ploys To Be Aware Of
There are certain scenarios that potential kidnappers will use to try and lure children to them. Teaching children what these are, are very important, as it will help them to identify potentially dangerous situations.
This is what Brenda decided to do with her own children. She read up on some of the most common ploys and began to teach Maddison and her siblings what to watch out for if she was not around.
The Name Lure
One of the most common lures a predator will use is the ‘name lure.’ Usually, a predator will have watched their chosen child for a number of days, weeks, or even months. They learn the child’s schedule, along with their name, and likes and dislikes.
This allows them to act like they know the child and establish a facade of trust. Children are more likely to trust someone if they think that they might know them in some way.
The Help Lure
This lure, called the ‘help lure’ is slightly less common, but it also plays to a child’s sense of what is right and wrong. A potential kidnapper will appear to be in distress and will look to the child they want to kidnap for help.
Most children are always taught to help those in need, even if it is a stranger. That is why children need to be sensitized to the fact that adults may not require help, and asking a child when there are adults around is abnormal behavior.
The Gift Lure
Another ploy that some kidnappers will employ is the ‘gift lure.’ This one is quite different than the other two. Essentially, the kidnapper will offer the child they want to lure something that will make them happy, such as candy, toys, or another applicable gift.
They don’t give them the gift right away, though, and the child first has to follow them to an unknown location or waiting vehicle, where they will then be alone.
The Emergency Lure
The final ploy that potential kidnappers will use is the ‘emergency lure.’ This is the one that Maddison’s kidnapper tried to use on her, and it may have worked if Brenda had not done such a good job with teaching her about these.
The emergency lure has the kidnapper telling the child that something has happened to a family member, and they have been sent to collect them and bring them to the hospital or care facility.
Maddison’s Brother
The man behind the wheel of the truck that wanted to kidnap Maddison decided to use the emergency lure on her. He began to tell her that a horrible accident had befallen her brother, which was why he was unable to pick her up from school that day.
The only problem was that Maddison was aware of this ploy, and knew to ask some pointed questions about what had happened to her brother. This stumped the kidnapper.
At Home Lessons
Before Maddison was approached by this man, Brenda had gone over every possible lure she had heard of with her children. They had done role-plays in which Brenda would use some of the lines that predators could use as lures.
These lines taught Maddison what to listen for when strangers would talk to her. Sometimes it was just the parents of her classmates who she did not know, but in this instance, it was definitely a predator.
Describing The Incident
When Maddison walked over to this stranger’s truck, all of her friends watched from a distance. As he told her about her brother, her mind began whirring. It was odd that her parents would not communicate with her if this was true.
What was also strange was the fact that this stranger would not allow her to see his full face. That immediately put her on edge. If this man was supposed to be helping her, why did he need to hide?
The Code Word
Brenda had tried to think of creative ways to keep her children safe, and to avoid the emergency lure, in particular, she developed a code word. This word was something each of her children had to remember, and if an accident ever occurred, they had to ask for it.
Their grandma also knew the word, if something was to happen to Brenda and her husband. Maddison gazed at the truck driver and decided to see if he knew the correct word. He did not.
Saved
The fact that this driver did not know the word, alerted him to the fact that Maddison knew he was a potential kidnapper. As soon as he was asked for a code word, he knew the ruse was up. He immediately kicked his truck into gear and sped off into traffic.
Maddison did not know him, and she had saved herself. However, this predator was still on the loose, which meant that other children in the neighborhood would need to be on their guard.
Code Word Creation
Brenda and Maddison never shared what the code word was, but we know that that is what kept her out of harm’s way. Brenda decided to come up with a code word after learning about all of the lures used to kidnap children.
She never wanted to have an Amber Alert issued because one of her kids had gone missing. That being said, she could also not be with them 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
A Police Bulletin
As soon as Maddison made it to her grandmother’s house after this awful encounter, the police were called. They rushed over from the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office and tried to get all of the details about the man and his truck that they could.
Maddison relayed everything she had noticed, and a police bulletin was put out. There was also a Facebook post regarding the incident, which caught many parents’ attention, and made them think about their own code words.
Always Have A Code Word
The police commended Brenda on creating a code word and encouraged other parents to do the same. Most children are too innocent to realize that a predator might be trying to kidnap them.
Having a simple family meeting on how to avoid stranger danger, and why a codeword is important when talking to strangers can prevent a child from being kidnapped. More and more parents should try and employ this tactic to keep their kids safe.
The Stranger
To make the situation even more terrifying, the man and his truck were actually quite well-known in Maddison’s neighborhood. He had been watching a number of school children for a few months, Maddison was just the first child that he decided to approach.
Other parents in Maddison’s Arizona community are now using code words to keep their kids safe. The police continue to stay vigilant as they look for the unknown man.
Going Viral
The story of Maddison and her wannabe kidnapper began to spread across social media, and garner a lot of interest and support. The online community lauded Brenda for her code word usage, and we hope that parents around the globe will adopt this practice.
No child should be taken, and if the usage of a code word can prevent that, then it definitely should. We hope to hear a lot more about code words being used in the future.
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