My husband and I almost became “lost” children at the mall

I was 8 (brother 6) and we were at the mall with my parents. They parked us at the “mall play area” for kids off the main aisle, while they went to shop. (You know the play areas I’m talking about - usually a sign with gumballs and a bunch of plastic composite play equipment). <br><br>We were both sitting at the bottom of the slide playing and somehow convinced ourselves that the mall was closing and our parents had been called over the PA system but we hadn’t heard because we were playing in the noisy play area. It was getting dark, and we were certain that the mall was closing and we were lost. <br><br>I remember thinking I had to get us out of there, because they were going to lock us in and then how would we ever find Mom and Dad. And what if the mall closed and we were stuck overnight on the hard floor. I convinced my brother we had to “find someone” to call our parents and come get us. <br><br>We were both scared to death and I took my brother by the hand and we walked out of the children’s play area. (I’m sure I looked totally panicked & terrified- like any 8 year old thinking she’s lost her parents in the mall!) <br><br>We walked to the first storefront and got the attention of the employees. It was an Abercrombie & Fitch store, and the mannequins all had those blank creepy stares. The store employees were standing at the open entrance by the racks and asked us what we were doing. I told them we thought the mall was closing and our parents had called for us over the PA but we didn’t hear it. <br><br>The employees looked very concerned and immediately took us inside the store. They offered us cookies and juice, and I was like, “are you going to call the police?? & can you call my parents?”, and they told us they were and “not to worry”. I was still really scared, but they were trying to help us. But I was a little confused by what was going on, and was getting more and more scared by the minute. I wanted my mom and dad. And why was this lady offering me cookies? It felt like my family was gone and I had been kidnapped into another world.<br><br>The employees called mall security, placed my brother and me in an office in the back of the store, and then they left and shut the door. I remember we were in a small office with a desk & chair, and another door I didn’t know where it went. We were alone for what seemed like a long time. We were both really scared, and I kept thinking we had been kidnapped. <br><br>The employees finally came back and they were different. They didn’t act like they were going to help us anymore. They acted almost like they were mad at us, and told us to wait again. And left. We waited for a while. Finally an older not-so-friendly looking employee with no smile came back and told us to come back out to the main floor. <br><br>They didn’t act like they were going to help us. And they didn’t seem like they believed us. But I don’t know why. I remember the lady with no smile asking us if we had taken any merchandise? And I thought she was talking about the cookies they had given us. So I said, “yes. But they gave them to us!”. <br><br>She rolled her eyes and told us to “wait out back”. So we went back to the office. Alone again. We were so scared and then it hit me we might have been kidnapped. And we were going to be locked in the office and never see Mom and Dad again. I was starting to lose it and my brother was freaking out crying. <br><br>Finally after what seemed like forever, we heard the door open. It was a police officer. Finally. We were so happy. My brother and I hugged the officer and started crying. He sat down on the floor with us and told us it was okay and that he was going to take us back to our parents. They had been searching all over the mall for us and were “very worried”. He told us to “never do that again”- we had really scared Mom and Dad.<br><br>He took us back out to the main floor and had us wait at the mall entrance. He went out into the parking lot and I saw him find our car and get in the driver’s side and talk to my parents. They pulled up to the mall entrance and I saw my mom’s face crying and then smiling and getting out of the car and running to us. <br><br>My parents were almost hysterical. I don’t know how long it took for them to realize we were missing but they said we were only gone for 10-15 minutes. The whole thing felt like hours. <br><br>Fast forward 30 years. My mom told me later that the police officer who took us back to my parents had told them that Abercrobie and Fitch was being sued for a Child Kidnapping that happened a few weeks prior. The same way we were kidnapped. And that the employees were trying to kidnap children who had been left in the play area, and then they would take pictures of the children trying on clothes in the back office of the store. They were using the photos in advertisements for the store. <br><br>The case was being investigated by local police and they were trying to identify the store employees involved. I have always thought about this incident, and wondered what would have happened if we hadn’t gotten the attention of the security people, and if a police officer hadn’t found us when he did. I’m so glad it was a mall employee who called the police and not the Abercrombie employees. And I’m so glad that my parents stuck around looking for us. And that we didn’t end up not seeing them again for a long time. Or ever. <br><br>It totally creeps me out to think we almost became a “lost” kid in the mall not just temporarily. But for real. And who knows how long and what would have happened to us. I’m just glad we were able to get away. This is why I always tell people, especially if they have kids, to never leave them unattended. Even for a minute. <br><br>The mall doesn’t feel like a “safe” place anymore. Unless I’m with an adult.