Canada
Ajax Attempted Abduction Thwarted By Girl Using Code Word
Ajax Attempted Abduction Thwarted By Girl (courtesy Google Maps)
A quick thinking 10-year old school girl in Ontario managed to prevent herself from becoming a kidnapping victim when she asked the couple attempting to lure her into their car what the code word was. The girl had previously established a special word known only by family members and the couple attempting to abduct her flunked the test.
The unidentified Applecroft Public School student was just leaving classes for the day when she was approached by a man who insisted that her mother had sent him to pick her up.
When asked for the agreed upon code word, the man gave an incorrect word and the student immediately phoned her parents who called for police intervention.
“He said the wrong word,” Det. Dave Mason of Durham Regional Police said Wednesday. “She said, ‘That’s not it,’ and she walked away.”
“It illustrates the importance of safety planning with your kids,” Mason said, adding that no arrests have yet been made in the Monday incident.
The girl also kept enough presence of mind to memorize some of the car’s license plate numbers in addition to being able to give a detailed description of the man who approached her and his female companion waiting in the car.
“I was impressed that the planning was in place and that it was employed,” Mason said.
According to the Star, the man is described as white, unshaven, with a medium build. He wore a grey hat, blue scarf and green jacket with red and black high-top sneakers.
The woman is described as white, possibly in her late teens or early 20s with long blond hair. She wore a purple and pink hat.
The vehicle was a small, blue-grey two-door sedan with a noticeable dent on the rear bumper to the left of the licence plate.
Anonymous tips can be made to Durham Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or on the website at www.durhamregionalcrimestoppers.ca .
On The Web:
10-year-old Ontario girl uses code word to thwart attempted abduction
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/10-year-old-ontario-girl-uses-code-word-to-thwart-attempted-abduction/article9989954/
Ajax schoolgirl uses code word to thwart attempted abduction
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2013/03/20/ajax_schoolgirl_uses_code_word_to_thwart_attempted_abduction.html