Be careful helping a lost child. You may be mistaken for a kidnapper.
^^ I happened to catch that story on the Today Show today. The parents beat up the man helping the child, thinking he was walking away with her; and posted his picture on social media saying he’s a child abductor. But why would he walk away from people carrying her, rather than just standing in one site trying to find her parents?? strange story
I saw that story too. The saddest part is the parents refuse to listen to the police trying to tell them that they’re mistaken, and are continuing their mission to ruin the guy’s life.
It seems to me that if he’s being charged with attempted kidnapping, then perhaps they should be charged with neglect for not knowing where their child was. Both are equally ridiculous. People in glass houses…
But I’ve got to admit: his choice of actions is bizarre. In this day and age, we know not to pick up a strange child. I’m not 100% sure I buy his story.
The guy helping was in the company of a deputy and there were witnesses that he was asking around for her dad. He Her father and his friends are young and they were probably scared and over reacted as any parent would. And then the lack of maturity won’t allow him to admit a mistake. SMH.
The first thing I saw about this, sometime yesterday, was a TV report that left out a lot of details: like, ALL of the exculpatory facts. Thankfully, it did not identify the assault victim. Based only on that report, I thought his story sounded sketchy. Based on the facts in this article, it seems clear that he was well-meaning.
I conclude the parents turned on the good samaratin to deflect from the fact that their 2 year old daughter was wandering around on her own. They lost sight of her or she was allowed to wander off so they blamed him rather than examine their own actions or lack of attention. Very typical response these days - blame someone else rather than examine your own actions.
A few years back I was returning an article of clothing to a department store. It became clear to me the clerk did not know what she was doing on the computer. When she asked me to sign the credit receipt I noticed she had refunded the total amount for all items on the receipt rather than just for the one item I had given her. It was a substantial error. I let her know and she looked at me and said “you told me you wanted to return it all.” I was astounded as I obviously had given her only one item for a refund and had said nothing of the sort. She just could not come to terms with the fact she had made an error. In the end she had to call a supervisor to refund the one item.
I am glad the police officer is helping the man push back against these parents.
Not many parents would gather up people to physically assault someone, then willfully ignore the police explanation and get on social media and continuously hound the guy and outright lie about him being a sex offender in order to ruin his life.
Most parents would just say, “Oh. Ok then, thanks for your help.”
““I don’t know (Patel’s) intent,” he said. “Our kid was not wandering around the park”. It was not long enough for me to slide my shoes off and put the cleats on that she was gone.”
Hope they don’t pull that 20 second rule about watching kids around a pool.
Obviously a first time parent. Kids are FAST. Mine once crawled out of her stroller (and she was buckled in!) and took off top speed down the mall with me in hot pursuit. I had to leave everything (stroller, packages all) just abandoned to grab her. Ugh.
The article said Strickland did not condone the facebook posts and most had been taken down. Good.
Years ago my H and I were at the mall (it’s always a mall for us) and we saw a little boy of about 3 or 4 y/o crying his eyes out and wandering down the mall. No idea why someone didn’t help him sooner.
Turned out his parents were in the anchor store (a long ways actually). We took him to the information desk (so yeah we wandered back in the direction from which he came) to wait for what we knew would be frantic parents (didn’t disappoint!) The original plan was to have an announcement over the loudspeaker (but the parents showed up).
He didn’t know his last name at all which is something that hadn’t really occurred to me at the time as a safety factor.
We went right home and taught our kids home addresses, phone numbers etc just to be sure.
These days arming your kids with a parent’s cell phone number might help–“if found, please return to…”
We always had the “if we get separated…wait RIGHT here!”
Somebody’s got to say the obvious:
There wouldn’t have been any trouble if the person who found the child was a woman. And that’s just so wrong.
Many years ago, my son (then age 2) got away from my husband in a shopping mall (it’s always malls for us, too), and a woman prevented him from going on an escalator and just held him there until his dad showed up. Obviously, there was no problem at all with this. My husband was grateful for the help. But reverse the genders of the adults, and maybe there would have been a problem – or at least concern about one.
Well…another time I had to haul my tantrum stricken two year old out of the store. I actually wondered at the time why nobody stopped me while carrying out a crying, kicking kid under my arm. Maybe it was the look on my face but at the time I thought “I could be anybody and nobody would look twice.”
This was the part I didn’t understand:
How was he trespassing?!!
I’m sorry, but if I see a lost child or a child hurt or alone needing help I’m not going to hestitate!
I always go to the aid of distressed kids and try to comfort them and re-unite them with family or wherever they belong. Kids ARE speedy and can become separated quickly. Sad when folks trying to be helped are physically and otherwise attacked.
I went through a few years where it seemed all I did was find lost kids.
I would usually tell the child that we were going to stand very still and wait for his mom or dad to find us.
If I had to I would hold their hand.
Once I was driving home from and interview in a camel straight skirt, camel high heels and white
wool jacket. Never had looked so good! I saw two little boys about 5 on the side of this super busy
highway throwing stones at cars. I pulled over, talked really sweet to them, got them to take me to their
house up the muddy bank. Their mother answered and was furious at them and did not so much as look at
me.
The there was the 18 month old in her walker in the very middle of the street. (H was not even going to stop!) I got her up the steep stairs to her house and mom answered with the vacuum running and started screaming at the 6 year old brother who was suppose to be watching her. An 18 month old in a walker in the street…?
No thanks there either.
This guys very innocent mistake is that he walked with the kid instead of just standing and
waiting or sending someone else to make an announcement. I worked with sexually abused
very very young kids so I knew how to proceed. Not something most of us need to think about.
I’m a woman so I’m privileged but I will always take care of a lost child. My dad and Mr R would never think twice either.
Mr R works with toddlers every day. It’s his instinct to calm a distraught child.
This is absolutely ridiculous.
He’s a much better person than I will ever be. I’d be pressing charges and seeing if I could sue for slander. Those stories will be on the internet forever.
I was the kid that wandered away. The worst is when I wandered away from my mom in Heathrow International at the age of 2. My mom was anything but a bad mother. I was just a bad kid. I was big for my age and was able to climb out of things easily. It got to the point where my parents just wouldn’t take me places. But I’m forever grateful for the people that I’m sure helped me get back to my frantic mom.
That’s why, many years ago, I put a “leash” on my kid who wouldn’t stay in a stroller and refused to hold my hand, despite all the dirty looks I got. (Not that I was afraid of Good Samaritans, but so she couldn’t run!)
^I’m a fan of leashes…better than a lost kid or one who darts out into traffic.
I ran across a kid who wasn’t lost but in danger – about 4, wading into Long Island sound up to her waist calling for her mother who it turns out was out pretty far (out of earshot) with her older kids, swimming. I wasn’t the only one who noticed her. She kept wading deeper, so I asked the girl if she knew how to swim, and she said no. I told her that she should wait with me and my young daughters till her mother came back. When mom did come back, she yelled at her daughter because she and my kids had been tossing pebbles in the water. No thanks, and no recognition that she had endangered her child. There’s no way she could have gotten to her quickly if she had gone under-- or reached her if someone had grabbed her.
I once got yelled at for grabbing a kid before he ran off the curb into a busy parking lot. I will as appalled at the parents, but would do it again in a minute.