After a stranger nearly kidnapped a 10-year-old girl in Arizona in 2018, authorities advised families to prepare a “token” in case of an emergency.
With hundreds of thousands of children missing each year, according to CNN, parents must do all they can to keep their children safe. The best way for parents to ensure their children stay safe is to prepare them for the worst-case scenarios.
For one family, this setup may have saved their child’s life.
After this story was published online, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office warned the rest of the world to be aware and follow the same strategies these parents used.
The story takes place on November 7, 2018. That Wednesday, a deputy was sent to a house after an attempted kidnapping was reported in the area.
When the attempt happened, a 10-year-old girl was approached as she was walking with her friend towards the park. A man in a white SUV approached them and told the girls that his siblings had been in a terrible accident. The guy went to ask the girl to come with him.
The girl, prepared by her parents, asked the guy to share the “password” for such a scenario. However, the man was unprepared for this response and left.
Families have used passwords in the past to send secure messages in times of crisis or when parents send another adult to pick up the kids.
This little girl didn’t know what to ask when she was approached by a stranger claiming to have information about her siblings. Al-Sharif points out that more families need to spread the word about the danger of strangers and start teaching their children code words.
