How I narrowly escaped being kidnapped

Throwaway because I don't feel like sharing this story with anyone on my main. I don't normally post stories like this because I like to keep my experiences more or less private, but I feel like too many people take their safety for granted, and this is a story that I think more people should hear. I hope it helps people stay vigilant. <br><br>This happened in the 90s. I was only about nine years old at the time, so I'm pretty fuzzy on the details, but I will try to remember as much as I can. If you have questions, feel free to ask. <br><br>I was at a mall with my father and older brother, and we were browsing one of the larger department stores. My brother and I were hyperactive children, and I had a habit of hiding behind clothing racks and jumping out at people. It wasn't malicious. I wasn't trying to scare anyone in particular, I just enjoyed the thrill. <br><br>My dad had scolded me on multiple occasions for doing this, but being a young, extremely easily entertained child, I only stopped for a moment and usually went back to my shenanigans. It was all in good fun. I didn't think anything of it. <br><br>My dad and brother had stopped to look at something and I had wandered off again. I left the men's section and had walked into the children's section, and was hiding behind some of the clothing racks, waiting to see if I could scare my dad and brother when they found me. <br><br>I was crouched down hiding behind the rack closest to the wall when I heard a woman talking to my dad and brother. She sounded angry. She was telling them that I was scaring her children and she wanted me to stop. <br><br>My dad was confused, but he apologized profusely and called me out. When I came out, the woman started yelling at me, saying I was bad and that I needed to stop scaring her children. I started to cry. My dad was confused and asked where her children were. <br><br>She said she was waiting for them in that section because they were in the next row over, trying clothes on. My dad apologized again, but then turned and walked away. The woman was still yelling at me as we left. I think at one point, she asked if I wanted to go find her kids and wait with her. My dad said no, we were leaving and I wasn't going anywhere near this woman or her kids. <br><br>We left the store. My dad talked to me about how my pranks weren't funny and they scared people. I wasn't trying to scare her kids specifically. I didn't even know they existed. Still, I felt bad about the whole thing and I promised not to do it anymore. <br><br>My dad dropped the subject. My brother and I went our separate ways in the mall for a while. I don't remember what my dad did during this time. I think he might have gone to get food, but I'm not really sure. <br><br>After about an hour of browsing the mall, I decided to head back to the food court and meet up with my family. I had been in a toy store, looking at games and puzzles. They had some of the same kind my friend had back home, so I compared the prices and looked around for a few minutes. I decided ultimately that I didn't want to buy anything, so I left and started back toward the food court. <br><br>I only made it about halfway before I was approached by the woman from the department store. I recognized her immediately. <br><br>She smiled at me and said, "You're the little boy that was hiding in the clothes at the department store, right?" <br><br>I nodded. I was too scared to say anything. <br><br>"Well, are you still trying to play hide and seek? My kids are really sensitive, so they don't want to play with other kids. But they would really love it if you didn't hide from them. They're over there," she pointed to one of the mall entrances, opposite from where I was trying to go. <br><br>I told her no, I was trying to find my dad. I didn't want to play with her kids. <br><br>"Oh, he's over there with my kids! They said they'd love to play with you if you promise not to scare them. But you need to promise that you won't hide behind anything. They don't like it when kids hide from them." <br><br>I don't know what possessed me, but for some reason, I just knew in my heart that this woman and her kids weren't who they claimed to be. There was something off about her that I couldn't quite put my finger on. <br><br>I said, "My dad wouldn't just leave me here. He wouldn't just give me to some random kids." <br><br>The woman smiled again. "Of course he wouldn't! He left you here with me and my husband. You don't remember us? We're friends with your family, and your dad wanted you to come and play with the kids for a while." <br><br>I told her again I didn't want to play with her kids. I was going to find my dad. I started to back away. That's when the woman got angry. She reached out and grabbed my arm, and her grip was like a vice. <br><br>"Listen. If you want to see your daddy again, you're going to have to come with me. He left you with us. If you don't come with us, we won't take you back to him and you'll never see him again." <br><br>I tried to yank my arm away and that's when I started to panic. I had never been in a situation like this before. Everything seemed surreal and I didn't know how to react. I was too scared to even cry. <br><br>The woman started to pull me away, towards the mall exit, and I started to struggle. <br><br>"Don't make this harder than it has to be. Just come with us. If you struggle or try to run, my husband will have to come over here and get you, and you don't want that." <br><br>I was still in a daze. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew this wasn't right. I told her again that I wasn't going anywhere with her. <br><br>That was it. She yanked me toward her and slapped me across the face. I was shocked. Nobody had ever hit me like that before, and it hurt. I started to cry and tried to wrestle out of her grip again. <br><br>It was then that I heard someone behind me say, "Ma'am, I think you should let that little boy go." <br><br>The woman turned around and there was a mall cop standing behind us. <br><br>"What's going on here? The little boy is crying, and you're holding him. Are you his mother?" <br><br>The woman let go of my arm. "Oh, no. I'm his... babysitter. His mother asked me to pick him up from the mall. I guess he doesn't recognize me." <br><br>"I wasn't aware there was a problem. Someone call for assistance?" <br><br>I took advantage of the woman's momentary confusion to blurt out, "I don't know her! She's not my babysitter! I want to call the police!" <br><br>The mall cop looked at me sternly and said, "I think that would be a good idea. Let's call your mom and see what she says." <br><br>He looked at the woman and asked for my mom's phone number. She stared at him for a moment, then she just turned and ran. <br><br>She ran all the way to the exit, and then she was out of sight. <br><br>The mall cop knelt down and put a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, little man. It's okay. You're safe now. Why don't we go find your parents and call the police?" <br><br>I nodded. By this point, I was sobbing. This whole experience was just so shocking. I never expected anything like it to happen, and I never expected someone to try to kidnap me. <br><br>The mall cop started to escort me away, and I told him which store I was in last and what my dad was wearing. <br><br>It didn't take him long to find my dad, and when he did, he asked my dad if he knew the woman. My dad said he didn't, and he thanked the mall cop for rescuing me. <br><br>I told him everything that had happened, leaving out the part where the woman slapped me. I didn't want to worry him. <br><br>He thanked the mall cop for bringing me back and asked where to go to file a report with mall security. He also called the police and filed a report. <br><br>The mall cop said that he had written down the description of the woman he had spoken to, and that he would give that to mall security. <br><br>I don't know what happened to her. I don't know if they found her. If I had to guess, I'd say she was probably a kidnapper that already had a reputation with the police. <br><br>But the real point of this story is that you should ALWAYS be aware of your surroundings. I could have been kidnapped that day. If the mall cop hadn't shown up, who knows what would have happened to me? <br><br>I hope this story helps people realize how important it is to be vigilant and aware of their surroundings. You never know what could happen.