My dad saved me from being kidnapped as a kid. (With Update)

Hello, I've never posted here before but I created an account just to post this story, and I figured I should give a little back story before I get into the meat of it. I'd just like to preface this by saying I'm a 100% legitimate person with a legitimate story to share, and that this actually happened to me.<br>Ever since I was about 9 or 10, I had an overwhelming feeling of fear whenever I was in crowded areas or public spaces. I was diagnosed with severe anxiety at 19, and they chalked the feeling of unease up to that, but I knew that wasn't it. I'd always get extremely upset when I was away from my dad, and I couldn't tell if it was because I was an anxious person, or if there was something more to it. It wasn't until I was about 28 (I'm 32 now) that I was talking to my dad about different things we'd "forgotten" from our childhoods until I brought up something that I had honestly believed was made up until he confirmed it for me: When I was about 5, my dad saved me from being kidnapped while we were at a local county fair.<br><br>For context, I am from a small town in Texas with a population of less than 24,000 people, and I grew up in the 90s. It was an extremely safe place to grow up, and I don't think I ever even locked my car door until I was in high school. (This incident happened in '96, when I was about 5.)<br><br>My mom and dad were separated for about two years, and during this time I'd spend some weekends at my mom's house with my brother and some at my dad's. My dad was a single parent at the time, and he worked 12 hour shifts at the hospital 6 nights a week, so I had to go to before/after school care at the school district for a couple of years. I'd always complain about having to go there, until one day the lady who ran it asked me "well, where would you like to be instead?" and I said "I want to be with my daddy".<br><br>She looked shocked and said "well, you can't be with your daddy because he's at work." I remember getting so upset and saying "I don't care if he's at work! I want to be there!" until she called my dad in the middle of his shift at the hospital. He left, and never took me back to the after school care. After that, I spent most nights with him, sleeping on the couch in his living room while he worked nights at the hospital. One of his coworkers, a lady named Rhonda, would come over and babysit me until he got off work.<br><br>One night in May, Rhonda and I were at the county fair, and we rode all the rides and ate all the food. I'd never had a corndog until then, and I still only eat corndogs from county fairs because it's such a strong memory for me. When we were leaving, Rhonda said she had to go to the bathroom, and that she would meet me at the car. I didn't think anything of it, until I got outside and realized that I didn't know where she had parked, because my dad and I had driven there in his car and she followed us. I looked around for her, but I couldn't find her anywhere. That's when I saw the Funnel Cake stand a little bit away, and I knew I wanted one of the powdered sugar cookies they had, so I went over to the funnel cake man and asked if he had any cookies. He said yes, but that they costed $4, and I only had my ticket stub from the fair. He said "well, tickets aren't real money kiddo, you can't buy anything from me." I said "but tickets are money! They're fair money!" And he started laughing and said "you're a feisty little thing" and handed me a cookie.<br><br>I took a bite and started walking around, looking for Rhonda. It wasn't very long until I saw a man and a lady that I didn't recognize. The lady started talking to me, and I don't remember what she said, but I remember the feeling of being scared. It's a feeling that I get a lot to this day, and it's hard to describe, but I just remember feeling like I *had* to get away from them. I started walking faster, and they followed me, until I heard my dad yell "HEY" really loudly. I looked over, and my dad and Rhonda were standing by my truck, and the man and lady were behind me, and they took off at a full sprint in the other direction. My dad yelled at Rhonda to get me in the truck, and they both came over and grabbed me, and they threw me inside and locked the doors. My dad started cussing at the lady who was helping me get in the truck, and she started cussing back at him, and that's when it all clicked together that this lady was trying to take me, and that my dad had saved me from that. We got in the truck and drove off, and my dad kept looking in his rearview mirror, and I asked what was wrong, and he said that "some people were trying to hurt some kids."<br><br>We drove in silence for a while, and then my dad asked me if I was okay. I said I wasn't, because those people were trying to hurt some kids. He said "no, they were trying to hurt you." And I said "but you saved me." And he said "yeah, I did, but I'm your daddy, you're my baby, and you're safe now."<br><br>After that, my dad never let me out of his sight. He took the rest of the week off work, and he didn't leave my side until my mom picked me up on Sunday. When I get really stressed or anxious, I always think back on those words, always. "I'm your daddy, you're my baby, and you're safe now."<br><br>And I always am, and forever will be, safe with him.<br><br>Update: Wow, I'm honestly so touched and humbled by how many people have read my story. I just uploaded it and went to bed, and didn't expect it to get more than 5 or 6 upvotes, but when I woke up this morning, I was amazed! I never thought my story could reach so many people, but I'm glad that I could share it with you all.<br><br>To those of you that sent their condolences to my father, thank you so much. He passed away about 3 months before my son was born, but I can tell you that he was an amazing man, and that you would have loved him. He was kind, patient, and understanding, and he would smile all the time, just like I do. <br><br>To those of you who asked about Rhonda and the man selling funnel cakes, I didn't bring them up to my dad, and I don't have enough to go on to find the funnel cake man, and he doesn't seem malicious. The whole interaction I had with him was very pleasant, and he seemed genuinely happy to be giving me a cookie :) and I believe that he would be hard to find if I *did* want to find him, so I'm just going to let that one go. I'm going to ask my dad about Rhonda, though.<br><br>And to those of you who message me saying I'm not in this sub long enough to be telling a real story, that's okay, I get that. If I'm being completely honest with you, I'm an extremely anxious, depressed, and introverted person, and this is the only instance in my life where anything like this has happened. I've taken time to try to work out problems in my mind, but I'm finally trying to become a more social person, and this is my first step. I'm not good at talking to people, and I'm not very outgoing, so this is a huge step, and I'm sorry that it's a weird one.