As a parent, the idea of anything bad happening to your child is unbearable. Mothers and fathers with young kids in particular have plenty of worries on their minds, while at the same time they don't want to restrict their children from living a good, full life. One Arizona family came up with a clever way to protect their kids from potential kidnappers, and amazingly, it worked to thwart an abductor's evil plan.
KSAZ reports that, in early November, a 10-year-old girl was walking with a friend near a park in her neighborhood one afternoon. The two were approached by a strange man who was driving a white SUV. Reportedly, the man pulled up next to the two and told the 10-year-old that her brothers had been in a bad accident. He told her she needed to get in the car and come with him.
According to the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, the 10-year-old didn't recognize the man, so she asked him for the "code word." This "code word" was taught to her by her family, to be used in situations just like this. Incredibly, it worked. The man was flustered and didn't know it, so he drove off.
"We came up with a code word, and this one time, it saved my daughter's life," mom Brenda James told KSAZ, recalling how her daughter called her after the incident while panicking and in tears. "I never thought it would be used, but I'm proud of her for remembering that and knowing to use that."
Neighborhood children said that the SUV was seen circling the park frequently and had obscured most of his face with his hand when he approached the girl, so as not to be identified. The sheriff's office is investigating the incident.
