Teach Children To Be Safe – Girl Abducted in Cody, WY by man “Looking for puppy”

Two days ago, Monday, October 8, 2012, at approximately 4:33 PM, the police in Cody, WY, received a report from an 11 year old that her 11 year old friend had gotten into a white vehicle with a gentleman, approximately 45 minutes earlier and had not returned.  She went to the man to help him find his lost black lab puppy.   First report I read.

After an Amber Alert was activated for the 11 year old girl, she was found walking down a road at 8:15 that evening.  The girl was sexually assaulted.

This stuff happens!  And if infuriates me!

As I write this, the police in Wyoming, Montana and elsewhere are looking for this sick predator.  Please read this article for description and information on reporting to the Cody Police Department.   In one article, a Cody area resident, Karen Hertell, stated it was horrifying and that she didn’t think the girl did anything wrong because, “he was tricky, he used a dog.  I mean, wow!”  See article.

SHE DID DO SOMETHING WRONG.  But I’m not blaming her because she was probably not taught.  This is why I teach this stuff.  We must teach our children to be safe.  Just a few weeks ago I posted one of my Best Safety Tips about this very topic. The first of four ways I described in the video that sickos use to lure kids was with pets.  The four were: 1. Pets.  2. Gifts. 3. I know your Mommy or Daddy. 4. Taking pictures.

Please watch the video now:

A couple days before I posted this video, I was having lunch with a police detective friend, who’s sole job is investigating crimes against minors.  Most crimes are done by people the child knows.  But stranger abductions do happen!  Two days ago in Cody, WY it happened.  It’s happened before, and it will happen again.  That is why we must teach kids to be safe.  That is why I continue to make these safety tip videos, write about the topic and do my safety speeches to various groups, including my safety fund raisers for non-profits (including churches).  (The United States has roughly 59 million children and there are about 3,200 to 4,600 successful child abductions by strangers each year.  In reality, most abducted children are taken by a parent or family member during a custody battle.  Studies estimate that there are about 350,000 of these cases each year, accounting for 50 percent of all abduction cases.)

But back up – 3,200 to 4,600 successful child abductions by strangers each year?  THAT IS WAY TOO MANY!  Yes, I’m passionate about this topic.  Read my novel Lost Conscience: A Ben Baker Sniper Novel to see some vigilante justice against those who harm kids.  My passion on the topic is why I wrote the book, and it’s why I continue to try and help people live safer lives.  We must teach our kids to be safe and teaching them about stranger danger is part of the overall safety skills we should be teaching them.

It is not enough to just tell your kids this once and think you’ve done your job.  It needs to be reinforced, and practiced!  Yes, practiced!  Role play scenarios with your kids. And guess what?  They might not want to.  That’s okay, you are the parent, make them anyway.

My daughter sighs and says, “I know all this, you’ve told me before…”  But we still go over it periodically.  There was a Dateline recently where kids who had been taught, one by her police officer father, that were tested by an actor with an ice cream truck.  Every kid took ice cream from the man, and almost every kid got into the ice cream truck with him.  (I think it was the police officer’s daughter who didn’t get into the truck, but she still went over and took ice cream.)  And yes, I watched this with my daughter and we talked about the topic again, and I had her practice what she was supposed to say.  Like in the video above, “I’M GOING TO GO GET MY MOM OR DAD!”

However, we don’t want to make our children paranoid about the potential danger of strangers.  Most strangers are not harmful and will help in an emergency.  Don’t let your children become fearful of all strangers.  We don’t want our kids to walk around being scared.  This is the same I teach adults. Don’t be scared, don’t be paranoid, just be aware and be alert. Children should be alert and prepared, not in a constant state of terror.

I will continue to make safety tip videos for youtube, write and make DVDs on safety and self-defense, and speak and conduct seminars on the topic to help as many people as I can.  What I want you to do is act on the advice and take responsibility for your own safety, and teach your kids what to look for and what to do so they can learn to be responsible for their safety too.  We must protect our children, but at the same time we must teach them to protect themselves.

Take Care, Stay Safe, and Keep Your Kids Safe!

A few resources to help you keep your kids safe from amazon: