An Oklahoma mom’s warning to parents is going viral after she shared a scary incident that she and her daughter experienced at a local Target.
Amanda Kalidy wrote that a little girl tried to lure her 4-year-old daughter, Jenna, away by first asking for candy and then by offering her gum while a man looked on.
She fears that the man was trying to kidnap her child, possibly for human trafficking.
Her Facebook post reads:
“Ok…I have to post this as a reminder to all moms. I was at Target on 2nd st when a girl about 9 yrs old kept approaching my daughter…i didn’t think much [of it] at first. She was pretty persistent so I got irritated and told her my daughter didn’t want any candy and we kept walking.”
The little girl didn’t stop there, however. As Amanda explains:
“She got upset with me and I went to check out she came up again trying to get Jenna to come take some gum. I looked over and a man was across the store signalling her. I told the cashier and he called the manager, which then they both bolted and got into a van. If I had known what was happening at the time, I could have grabbed the girl and saved her! Point being they wanted to take my daughter!!!!!! She’s 4!!!!
What’s even more frightening is what Amanda said the manager told her afterwards.
“The manager told me they target Target because moms [are there] during the day with their kids, and many times moms turn their backs when loading the car and they can grab them from shopping carts. PLEASE BE CAREFUL AND ALWAYS WATCH YOUR KIDS!!”
Ok…I have to post this as a reminder to all moms. I was at Target on 2nd st when a girl about 9 yrs old kept…
Posted by Missy Michelle Kalidy on Monday, April 4, 2016
Michael Snowden with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Human Trafficking Division believes Amanda’s story and said the fear is real, but that this was not likely related to human trafficking.
“We don’t generally see people snatching children from their parents or women being abducted from a retail store of some sort,” Snowden told KFOR News. “Human trafficking is much more subtle than that.”
He said that it was more likely that the girl was being used as a diversion so that the man could try to steal the mother’s purse or possibly her car keys.
Regardless of the stranger’s intentions, for Amanda the incident has reminded her to be far more vigilant when it comes to shopping with her children. It’s also a valuable reminder to all parents to be on guard when out in public spaces.
Share Amanda’s warning with your friends and family.
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