Kids are quite capable of acting heroically to save themselves or other children from would-be abductors. In fact, many people don’t realize that for every successful child abduction there are a dozen or more kidnapping attempts that are foiled, usually because the intended victim knows better than to fall for the ploy.
- Teach your kids abduction prevention techniques to protect them from kidnapping
Here are some of the more notable examples of kids foiling the plans of would-be kidnappers to rescue themselves or other children from the grasp of an abductor:
Three preteen girls save neighbor girl from abduction
In Kent, Washington, three 11-year-old girls were chasing after the jingle of an ice cream truck. But as they caught up to it they stumbled upon another scene that demanded their attention: A 6-year-old neighbor was struggling to free herself from the grasp of a man. Sensing something was wrong, the girls sprung into action to investigate.
As the three preteens approached, the man picked up his intended victim and started to walk away. The three brave girls then cut him off and stood in the way, asking, “Do you know this man?” The little girl emphatically shook her head no.
The would-be abductor got spooked, setting the girl down before fleeing. A neighbor who had watched the scene unfold called police, and the man was later caught. “We are impressed beyond words at the maturity and protectiveness displayed by these preteen girls,” said the Kent police. (Readers Digest, Dec. 2024, p. 11)
Michigan boy used sling shot to save his sister from being abducted
In Michigan 13-year-old boy, Owen Burns, used a slingshot to save his 8-year-old sister from being kidnapped. Since he was “freaking out” he simply reached for something that could stop the attack.
“So I grab my slingshot and open the window and I grab two things — a marble and a gravel rock or something,” said Owen. “I was just lucky. He’s just a big target because he’s not like one Pepsi can.”
Police said Owen struck the 17-year-old assailant in the head and chest. His sister was able to get away.
Mom peeks out the door just in time to thwart abduction
I remember it being the first time our mom had allowed us to play outside after dark. It was the mid 1980s, and I was around 7-years-old at the time. My brother was 5, and my friend Chad, who lived a couple doors down, was also 7. My mom was inside the house caring for our baby sister. Us boys were playing in the front yard underneath a porch light, racing 3-wheelers around the looping sidewalk that connected the front door to the driveway.
A black van with some sort of sunset mural painted along the right side pulled up next to the tree near our fence. There was something that seemed a bit off; maybe it was the way the van slowly approached or that it came to a park in an odd spot–30 feet from our driveway and next to a bushy tree. Whatever it was, when a man got out I sent my brother inside to go get our mother. That was the smart thing we did. The dumb thing we did was to stay outside ourselves, frozen in captivation by the scene like deer in headlights.
The man approached us, picking up his pace as he neared. My brother to this day swears the man had a ski mask on; that was my initial recollection too, but over the years I’ve come to question whether he actually did or if that’s some detail my childish mind invented and added to the memory.
Just as he was within snatching distance, my mom opened the front door and poked her head out. She didn’t actually see the man; her eyes had not yet adjusted to see anything beyond the bright porch light. But he saw her. The would-be abductor got spooked, running back to the van and climbing in. His accomplice then peeled out so fast and recklessly they backed up onto the neighbor’s lawn and got stuck. The van spun its wheels and revved its engines for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only 15 or 20 seconds. When the van’s tires finally caught traction, the driver was gunning the engine so hard it shot forth like a cannon and narrowly missed crashing into the ditch on the other side of the street. The van with a sunset mural then raced off into the night, speeding through a stop sign before disappearing out of sight.
This incident would continue to haunt me over the years, not because it was personally traumatic; it wasn’t. But as I got older, every time a child went missing or was found murdered, I couldn’t help but wonder: Did the figures in the black van with the sunset mural do it?
-Personal story from a founding member of this site.