Kidnapping

I was in the office when there was a knock on the door around 10:00 am. Riley answered it in his bathrobe. It was a police officer. Riley had mentioned earlier that there were police outside the house and at the neighbors. I told Riley I would talk to the police, find out what they wanted.

The officer asked if I or the boys had seen anything this morning. Two men had broken into the house across the street and stolen a six month old baby. I went bug eyed, scared me so much I started tearing up. I was freaked.  The officer went on to calm me with saying that they thought it was a domestic dispute over a restraining order on the husband. It relieved me so much to know that it was a family issue, though why it should when family violence is just as ugly and can happen just as much, but there is something so much less scary with the known,  a family squabble versus than to think some wacko just walked into my neighborhood and snatched a child.

I haven't met this particular family. They have lots of children of varying ages. I figured it was a blended household, hers, his, and theirs kind of home with that many children and some  of similar ages. I have been impressed with how they play outside, riding bikes, and walking the dog, and just being outside, unlike my boys who sit and play the x box all day inside, and have tantrums over the thought of being restricted from the TV or x box.

Trevor had been soaking his big toe in the bathroom at the time of the incident. No windows in the bathroom so I knew he had not seen anything. Riley was still in bed at 9:00 am, sound asleep. I woke him shortly after nine. His room faces the valley so he didn't see anything. I felt bad we were of no help. The officer was hoping someone might know the make and model of the car that was used. They wanted to get out a bulletin on  the kidnapping.

A few hours later I was driving Trevor into the city to play with his cousins, who were visiting from New York. Trevor is off to scout camp the next week so would otherwise miss seeing them. On the big traffic bulletin signs over the freeway,  was the Amber Alert asking people to call with information if they saw a car with the description and license posted in the bulletin. The police must have identified the car eventually.

Freaky to know that the Amber alert was for my neighbors. Trevor asked what an Amber Alert was. He did not know the expression so I explained how it is a mass bulletin using all media sources in the event of a missing child, because the first few hours are crucial. If everyone in the general public knows to be on the lookout, and you have every driver on the road aware and looking, it is hard for a criminal to escape notice since all eyes are watching out for the missing child.

We heard on the news later that the child was found. The car had been identified. The child was safe. The Amber Alert worked. Tom called me wanting to know when I would be home as there was a media van camped out in front of our house. He had been accosted when he parked his car after work, in hopes of an interview about the neighbors and the child snatching. He said they were really pushy, so he had volunteered me. He said I might be willing to be interviewed and would be more attractive on camera. I told Tom that I didn't want that to be my 15 seconds of fame.  I didn't know the family. Had I been in their shoes I would appreciate everyone minding their own business.

When I got home I drove straight into the garage and shut the doors. I didn't dare go out into the front yard, even though I had wanted to water my plants. The plants would have to wait. I noticed all the cars that usually are parked in the driveway or on the street in front of the neighbor's house were missing. The family was keeping a low profile. They had all gone into hiding elsewhere. That is what I would have done. That media van sat outside for hours. Around eight pm another car arrived with two people in it, a blond woman and I assume a camera man. I watched through the curtains as the woman already here went over the details with her replacement. The two that had been waiting all day in the van left in the car and the new news crew settled in. I could see a couch in the back of the van, the side door was wide open, with all the camera equipment and a TV screen going. The camera man settled on the couch to watch the TV.

We went to bed at our usual time around 9:oo pm. During the night I got up to go to the bathroom. It was dark outside, middle of the night. The van was still waiting. I have no idea how long they sat and waited. The van was gone when I looked out at eight in the morning. The family did not return until late afternoon. They kept a low profile and stayed inside the next day. I didn't watch the news. I didn't need to see if the family was paraded in front of the media. I was just grateful the child was safe.

I did tell the boys that this is why they needed to choose their girlfriends carefully. They needed to make sure the person they fall in love with and marry and have children with is well balanced. The fact that this guy broke a restraining order, and kidnapped his own child, shows that perhaps there was a serious need for a restraining order. He must have been either really mad or incredibly stupid to think he could get away with stealing his child and that the mother would not call the police, when she had already put a restraining order on him. Now he is really going to jail. Supervised visitations for the rest of his life, idiot. He even crossed state lines before he was caught. He is in deep doo doo.  People can be so stupid.