Dear Editor,
My husband and I were driving through town as school was let out
and found ourselves witnessing what appeared to be a possible child
abduction.
Dear Editor,
My husband and I were driving through town as school was let out and found ourselves witnessing what appeared to be a possible child abduction. We saw a car driving slowly with the passenger door open and a man leaning over the passenger seat coaxing the child into the car. I was horrified! The child was clearly aware of what was happening and began
running.
Instinctively, my husband made a U-turn as we continued to watch the man, out of his now-parked car, chasing the child on foot, then grabbing him and struggling with him to get him in the car. We pulled up behind the parked car, and my husband jumped out, ran to the struggling boy and demanded to know what was going on. I was waiting in the car ready to dial 911 if it became a physical confrontation. My husband asked the child (not the man) several questions, “Is this your Dad?”, “Do you know him?”, “are you afraid” etc. It turned out that the child knew the man, that he was a close family friend and the boy was just being “difficult.”
People may think that it wasn’t very smart to be so confrontational, not knowing what this mans intentions were, or for not dialing 911 right away, but it would have been worth a physical struggle between two adults to assure that the child didn’t get in the car and disappear while we waited for the police to come.
While we were relieved that everything was OK, we were shaken by the whole thing. We have three kids in school and we began to angrily realize how many people were driving through that same scene and didn’t stop! This happened in a very busy four-way stop sign intersection. Several cars could have stopped before we turned around, but they drove right by. If that man had been quicker, we would not have been able to intervene. What if it actually had been meant to be an abduction? That boy would be long gone.
I wouldn’t recommend that all people react in the confrontational way that we did.
However, we should all pay attention to our children and be aware of suspicious activity in our neighborhoods. We should all be willing to protect not just our own children, but also our neighbors children in whatever manner is necessary. Remember, your child is someone’s neighbor too.
Charles and Lydia Irwin, Gilroy
The Golden Quill is awarded on an occasional basis for a well-written letter.
