One of the most important things you can teach your kids is to never talk to strangers and make a commotion when someone attempts to harm them.
This will train them to protect themselves in ways they can, especially when they’re not by their side.
After all, there aren’t always adults around that they can run to, like teachers or police officers.
Another tip going around parenting groups on social media is to teach kids to look around for moms.
Moms who are out in public with their children will not hesitate to help a child asking for help.
We have yet to read instances on whether this proves helpful or not, but it does make sense when you think about it. Incredible things happen when you teach your kid to think on his feet, speak up, and be firm.
Such is the case with a ten-year-old boy who knew just what to do when a man tried to kidnap him.
The young boy was swimming when a man approached him, pretending to be his mother’s fiance. Without any hesitation, the boy moved away from the man, who then followed him along the dock of Coeur d’Alene Parasail.
Jamin Rodriguez, owner of Coeur d’Alene Parasail, or CDA Parasail, witnessed everything firsthand and told KREM 2:
“Immediately, the kid went around me and kind of hid behind me and stated, ‘I don’t know that man, and he’s not my dad.’ I look at the guy he’s with, and he’s like, ‘No, that’s my kid, I’m his dad, he woke up from a nap a little bit ago, and he’s just kind of groggy from that, and he is just kind of confused.'”
According to the police, the child also shared that the stranger had attempted to get him into a boat that was nearby.
Jamin found out that the man was telling the other employees the same story: he was the boy’s father.
This he immediately found suspicious, which prompted him to instruct his employees to watch over the ten-year-old while he questioned the strange man further. The guy felt uneasy about Jamin following him. Jamin recalls,
“He’s like, ‘Stop following me, leave and go back to your booth,’ and I was like, ‘No.’ He was like a main actor in a horror movie, like with that kinda creepy oddness.”
One of the CDA Parasail employees, Riley Estes, made sure to stay by the boy’s side as they tried to find his mom. According to Estes, the boy was shaken up.
“He says, ‘She’s right there, can we run?’ and so we both started to run to her. He was crying, super sad. Mom was shocked, obviously.”
In an interview with KREM 2, the boy’s mom admitted how everything just felt surreal.
She kept expressing gratitude to the owner and staff of CDA Parasail for their quick thinking. Because of their actions, her son was still safe and sound.
We can’t imagine just how much more protective she’ll be. Whether your child is two or nearing adolescence, you really can’t be too careful.
It also brought much relief to everyone that the suspect, identified as John Marshall Randolph, was arrested moments after the incident happened.
Watch the video below for more details on how the CDA Parasail staff prevented a kidnapping from happening!
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