October 2, 2016 - Shelby County Facebook users have been sending a post viral over the past 24 hours which warned of an experience a mother and her daughter had at a store in Center involving two Asian men who made her feel like they were being targeted for abduction. At the time of this story, the post which was made by Holly Bonner and gave a full description of the occurrence had 1,757 shares.
A similar incident was reported in Tenaha on a different Facebook post by Marshay McClure on Saturday, October 1st where a woman was watching her kids play along with other kids. She reported two males driving a grey Toyota car and it followed another child home. According to both posts, reports were made to local law enforcement.
It is unknown for certain if the men had ill will for them; however, it is a good reminder to all to be aware of your surroundings and know what to do in the event you yourself feel threatened.
There are many online resources for parents, kids, and teens to help them be avoid being taken and how to be prepared if someone does go missing.
kidshealth.org - Preventing Abductions (http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/abductions.html#)
- Have ID-like photos taken of your kids every 6 months and have them fingerprinted. Many local police departments sponsor fingerprinting programs. The Center Police Department Young Explorers have offered fingerprinting at various festivals and events.
- Make online safety (http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/net-safety.html) a priority. Your kids can be stalked online and not just at a store or playground.
- Set boundaries about the places your kids go and supervise them in places like malls, movie theaters, parks, public bathrooms.
- Never leave kids alone in a car or stroller, even for a minute.
- Avoid dressing your kids in clothing with their names on it - children tend to trust adults who know their names.
safewise.com - What to Do If You Think You're Being Followed (http://www.safewise.com/blog/what-to-do-if-you-think-youre-being-followed/) This website gives practical tips that will help you keep a level head and stay safe if you're suspicious that someone is following you. - Keep Calm, Pay Attention, Mix Things Up, Go Where the People Are, Break Out Your Phone, or Call the Police.
Don't ignore a bad feeling of uneasiness and don't be ashamed for feeling afraid. Remember the old saying, "It's better to be safe than sorry."
Facebook Post by Holly Bonner posted Friday, September 30th at 11:54pm
I am thanking God right now for keeping Halle & I safe tonight. I feel very strongly that we were being targeted to be abducted at Burke's Outlet in Center by two men.
David & I took our kids to Center to eat and run a couple of errands. I wanted to stop at Burke's Outlet to look for a purse, so the boys sat in the truck while Halle and I ran in the store. I told Halle I was going in to look for a purse and she said she wanted to go look at the shoes, I literally said to her, "Ok, that's fine--this store is small enough I can see you; I'll be over there in a few minutes." (Obviously that won't be happening again.)
So we go on about our shopping, I find a purse and go to the shoe section where she is. She's showing me a pair of shoes that she likes and I notice this man walking around the shoe section several times, nothing in his hands, no buggy, just walking around. He is a small framed Asian man, probably about 36-40 years old, wearing round frame glasses, a pair of baggy khaki pants and a big leather jacket. He walks by us, looking at Halle, smiling and says, "Oh..did you find something pretty?" She immediately smiles and says, "Yes sir!" Then she turns and looks at me and says, "He is really sweet!" Immediately my instinct told me something wasn't right.
I told her we needed to get going and that Daddy was sitting in the truck waiting on us. (I tried to say it enough times and loud enough that he would hear me--didn't work.) Halle is not satisfied with leaving the store empty handed and I didn't want to alarm her too much bc she would get all worked up, plus what if I was overreacting?! So I found a pair of Ram blue shoes that I told her would be really cute for school, she agrees and goes to try them on. As she sits down to try them on the man walks back by and says, "I like those on you!" and gives her the kind of adoring look that would freak out any mother. At this point I'm started to really know in my gut that really we need to leave. I tell Halle in a stern voice that it's time to go--now. She finally starts toward the front of the store with me. We check out and I never notice the man while we are checking out, so I assume he just went on about his business. Nope.
As we are walking to the door another Asian man, younger and more of an athletic build, comes out from no where (I hadn't seen him in the store at all) and walks out the doors adjacent to the ones I'm walking out of and gets between us and the exit doors. (There are two sets of doors to get into the store.) I push my cart to where all the other carts are and I notice he is just standing there watching us. At this point I'm freaking out in my head. We walk toward the door and he gets to the door first; I turn and notice the first guy coming very quickly toward us, so we are between the two men. A lady with a couple kids opens the door from the outside and they kind of walk in between us all, thankfully. At this point I am able to grab Halle's hand firmly and begin walking toward the truck. When I do Halle looks at me, obviously not aware of what is happening and I say, "Hold my hand. Hard." I look over my shoulder and they are coming toward us briskly until they notice David sitting in the truck we are going toward.
As soon as we got in the truck I told David what happened and we went to the sheriff's depart and talked to a deputy.
I am not over exaggerating or overthinking it when I say I believe, with every ounce of my being, that they were going to try to abduct us. I am very thankful that I listened to my gut. But I am more thankful that God was watching over us.
It's a very sad and scary world we live in. Please be careful. You think this kind of situation would never happen to you, but it can. You think this only happens in big cities, but it doesn't--it happens everywhere. Keep your kids beside you at all times in public. If your gut says to leave, do. Leave the buggy. It doesn't matter. Ask someone to escort you to your car. Get your phone out and start talking on it like there is someone picking you up at the front door of the store. Look them dead in the eyes--let them know you are aware of what they are doing. Talk to your kids about these kind of situations. Come up with a code word to use with your kinds in these types of situations. Above all, pray for safety and protection. And get some mace spray.
I am so very thankful to be able to put my Halle girl to bed tonight. That could've ended up so differently.
