During our affiliation with the squad, we participated in an expo at an enormous amusement park in a neighboring county. Several volunteer squads showed up to help with the event, which featured several stations where park guests could come, observe how rescue services are provided in various situations, or where guests could get advice on what to do in specific emergency situations that would help, rather than hinder. And, last the most extravagantly featured event was an aerial rescue show, involving a replica of the Eiffel Tower. Several of my ems instructors were flying through the air, crawling up the sides of the tower, or down, head first... It looked like a spiderman contest--amazing and nerve wracking. Just an FYI, although identical, this tower is not the one in the story, but one from a different, yet related, location. And so, you can imagine a park being packed with people, on a holiday weekend, and the crowds made even larger by the attraction of the expo. We learned later, from another squad member, that at a similar event in the same park, a child had been abducted. Our squad colleague was also a member of the park’s on-site EMS crew, She related to us how the park had quickly gone into emergency shut-down. All rides were stopped, as soon as they finished their cycle. All guests were directed to a single exit, manned by park security. The missing child was an infant, a baby girl, not yet able to walk or stand alone, only a couple months old. She’d been in the care of her parents, who also had her big brother along for the outing. He was a pre-schooler, but big enough to be walking around and staying excited over the parks attractions. At one point the couple stopped to attend to their son. Their baby girl was in a stroller, literally right next to them. In the few moments it took to assist their son, their infant girl was whisked out of her stroller and just like that... she was gone. They didn’t see anyone walking away with their baby. They didn’t see anyone close enough to have taken her. Nothing... no clues. Image via kai kalhh of Pixabay. Click here to view their gallery. They immediately went to park security, reported their child missing and provided a description. In those days, there were no surveillance cameras covering the entire park. They only had a physical description to go on. An emergency park shutdown was implemented immediately, in hopes of stopping the kidnapper(s) from leaving with the child. At the exit, the parents were there to see and inspect everyone leaving the park. Meantime, squads of security were sweeping the park, inspecting every area where it might be possible to hide a baby. As the park guests filed out, suddenly the mother spotted her baby, but it didn’t look much like the child she’d brought with her to the park. Her baby girl had been stripped and re-dressed to look like a baby boy, wearing an infant boy’s baseball uniform, complete with a cap. Her hair had been dyed to a different color. She was unconscious and poorly responsive due to being sedated. How did the mother spot her baby? Its shoes. The kidnappers hadn’t changed the child’s shoes. The were shoes weren’t gender specific, and before leaving baby big brother had done some drawing with a perma-marker on the bottom of his sister’s shoes. His mama noticed the on-the-fly artwork, and thankfully didn’t change the shoes before going to the park. Thankfully, there is help available providing tips to help all of us to decrease the chances of this happening to other children. Free, online schoolingMy recount of the park incident had a happy ending. Countless others don't. If you have children in your care, I urge you to study up on ways to prevent abduction. The information isn’t just for grownups. It’s for kids, too. Here are some links to free resources to get you started if you’d like to learn more. 💝 Kidpower: Stranger Safety and Self-Defense Skills 💝 KidSmartz: Personal safety lessons for educators, parents and kids 💝 Parents Guide to Preventing Child Abduction 💝 kidguard: How to teach Kids About Kidnapping and Stranger Danger 💝 LiveSecure: How to protect kids from predators, kidnappers Abduction: Not just for strangers...Much of the time, there are no strangers involved in abductions. It happens every day by people well known to the victim. Just sayin’... Equally disturbing are situations where people see an abduction and do nothing to help. So, there ya go... If we stay proactive, we're already at an advantage. If you see an abduction, please take action to help. Seconds count and can make the difference between a kidnapping success or failure. ShoutOuts ☙ The powerful leverage of the minority via Martie's Foyer The wrap!Thanks for your visit and hope you've gotten some useful and thoughtful information in today's edition. If you know of someone who might find it useful as well, please share it.
Be blessed and see ya next week... Shalom
8 Comments
Paula
2/6/2018 06:03:00 pm
Oh gosh, Angelia! The mere thought of an incident so horrific takes my breath away! Amazing what the abductors had done to that baby!! THANK heaven that precious baby was found! I hope the perpetrators were dealt with severely!
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Angelia S. Phillips
2/8/2018 06:18:58 am
Hi Paula,
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Thanks for giving this example highlighting the importance of vigilance, keen assessment and lightening quick action in situations such as this, dear Ange.
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Angelia
2/8/2018 06:29:29 am
Prof. Mahreer,
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Angelia
3/6/2018 03:59:55 pm
Vicki,
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