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[Jo Ann]

OK, folks ... here I go again ... another e-mail that all should read ... thank-you Shaunna!

NEW FORM OF KIDNAPPING

Please take a minute to read this. 
This is very scary and could happen to any of us ...
Seems like every nice thing people do for one another can be perverted.

A new twist on kidnapping from a very smart survivor:

About a month ago there was a woman standing by the mall entrance passing out fliers to all the women going in.
The woman had written the flyer herself to tell about an experience she had, so that she might warn other women. 

The previous day, this woman had finished shopping, went out to her car and discovered that she had a flat.
She got the jack out of the trunk and began to change the flat.

A nice man dressed in a business suit and carrying a briefcase walked up to her and said, "I noticed you're changing a flat tire.  Would you like me to take care of it for you?" The woman was grateful for his offer and accepted his help.  They chatted amiably while the man changed the flat, and then put the flat tire and the jack in the trunk, shut it and dusted his hands off.

The woman thanked him profusely, and as she was about to get in her car, the man told her that he left his car around on the other side of the mall, and asked if she would mind giving him a lift to his car.

She was a little surprised and she asked him why his car was on other side.

He explained that he had seen an old friend in the mall that he hadn't seen for some time and they had a bite to eat, visited for a while, and he got turned around in the mall and left through the wrong exit, and now he was running late.

The woman hated to tell him "no" because he had just rescued her from having to change her flat tire all by herself, but she felt uneasy. (Trust that gut feeling!)   Then she remembered seeing the man put his briefcase in her trunk before shutting it and before he asked her for a ride to his car. 
She told him that she'd be happy to drive him around to his car, but she just remembered one last thing she needed to buy.  (Smart woman!!)  She said she would only be a few minutes; he could sit down in her car and wait for her; she would be as quick as she could be.

She hurried into the mall, and told a security guard what had happened, the guard came out to her car with her, but the man had left.
They opened the trunk, took out his locked briefcase and took it down to the police station.
The police opened it (ostensibly to look for ID so they could return it to the man). 
What they found was rope, duct tape, and knives.
When the police checked her "flat" tire, there was nothing wrong with it; the air had simply been let out. 
It was obvious what the man's intention was, and obvious that he had carefully thought it out in advance. 

The woman was blessed to have escaped harm.  (Amen...thank you, God!)

How much worse it would have been if she had children with her and had them wait in the car while the man fixed the tire, or if she had a baby strapped into a car seat?  Or if she'd gone against her judgment and given him a lift?
Send it to everyone ... even the ones that you think would be smart enough not to give the man a ride ... they just might send it to someone who would give the man a ride.   It may save a life. 
A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle.
 
I was going to send this to the ladies only; but guys, if you love your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc., you may want to pass it on to them, as well.   Better to be safe than sorry.
PLEASE BE SAFE AND NOT SORRY!!


 
Jo Ann

[Misskitz]

Jo Ann I had saw this on Urban Legands except it was quite different, Same story line expect It was a man in discise as a old lady who needed a ride home, and she (Or he) had a huge shopping bag with the knife and such worth in it. Very creepy and scary!

[ChinchillAZ]

I saw the same show that Misskitz saw...  Basically, the show indicated that this urban legend, while possibly based on some factual events, cannot be proven (as no police reports have been filed that give these same details) and certainly isn't recent (as people don't use knives in kidnappings these days when guns are readily available).  While it's always a good idea to be aware of your surroundings and take care of yourself, this legend keeps circulating as a means of scaring women.

[jmrothermel]

I guess being 8 mos. pregnant I get a little paranoid, so I'm glad you passed it on Jo Ann.  Even if its just an urban legend, its better to be paranoid then dead, IMO.

Jacqui

[Misskitz]

I saw on the news (Here) some crazy lady wanted to actually take a women's baby from the wound!       The pregnant one took the knife and stabbed her, I couldn't belive this! Good post Jo Ann!

[jmrothermel]

I know, these days its not even safe to be pregnant!  :-[ Thats one reason I take my DH everywhere with me!

[Debbie.nl.ca]

It can be so scary sometimes just being a women. We really need to be so much more aware of our surroundings than any man does.
Children and women, we need to be wiser. more careful, and so much more aware.

[Jo Ann]

I saw the same show that Misskitz saw...  Basically, the show indicated that this urban legend, while possibly based on some factual events, cannot be proven (as no police reports have been filed that give these same details) and certainly isn't recent (as people don't use knives in kidnappings these days when guns are readily available).   While it's always a good idea to be aware of your surroundings and take care of yourself, this legend keeps circulating as a means of scaring women.

 Kidnapping, as in robbery, could use many "tools" ... 2 years ago last month (Feb) ...While having coffee at a local coffee shop, one of the waitresses ask if we could give a young couple, that was stranded, a ride home or to the bus station ... if not, she would when she got off.  The waitress was young and very pregnant.  We said we would give the nicely dressed, very polite, stranded college kids a ride to the bustation.  Half way to the bus station, they pulled knives on us and demanded our money.  Needless to say, no one gets a ride anymore.

They did not get any money ... and we did file a police report ... and, once caught they got 35 years. 

A means to scare women?  I don't think so ... a way to make them aware that there are some very bad people out there and they can be the ones you least expect ... yes.

I lived in Memphis, TN for 23 years ... I took a self-defense course and carried a gun 24/7 ... Had I not done this, there would have been several times/reasons I would not be alive today.  It's not a 'scare tactic', it's a "be aware tactic."

 
Jo Ann

[ChinchillAZ]

As per my original post, THE SHOW indicated these things.  I have no way of knowing whether or not the story is true.  I don't give people rides as a safety precaution, regardless of whether or not I think they have a knife or gun.  If it's a steadfast rule that you have for yourself, it helps tremendously, as you never have to think about what to do when someone you don't know asks you for a ride.

[Jo Ann]

I was not trying to dispute anyone's words, just give my own opinion of the e-mail I received, my own experience and my own opinion.  If the t.v. show stated it was just "a means of scaring women" ... in my opinion, that was irresponsible of the show.  Things like this do happen.  Knives are quiet and do not bring the attention of a gun being fired.  For the program to show the story, then, make that statement, it was defeating the purpose of showing the story in the first place, in my opinion.

We are talking about 3 completely different incidents here ... and as Misskitz said: "... except it was quite different, Same story line expect It was a man in discise as a old lady who needed a ride home, and she (Or he) had a huge shopping bag with the knife and such worth in it."

Times have changed ... when my husband and I grew-up, you could leave your doors unlocked, windows open and keys in the car ... even when you were not there.  If someone needed a ride, you gave it to them and they thanked you with words, not a gun or knife.  People took pride in themselves and their word meant more than anything.  You didn't lie or cheat or go back on your word.  Back then, you made a deal with words and a shake of the hand ... and both parties knew it was a done deal and both sides would follow through.  It is a time so many will never know, because I think, it is gone forever. 

My husband is 6' 8" tall, a rather big man, and had been giving rides to anyone that needed it all his life. Until 2 years ago.
 
Until I moved to Memphis, TN ... I was naive and thought everyone was honest, fair and trustworthy ... I was rudely awaken to the now "real world" of "big city life" at 21 years of age. 

When I moved to Virginia 15 years ago, it was like going back in time ... I felt safe again ... and even stopped carrying my gun ... until the incident 2 years ago.

If we could only turn back the hands of time when the good stood taller than the bad ...

 
Jo Ann

[Debbie.nl.ca]

Times have changed ... when my husband and I grew-up, you could leave your doors unlocked, windows open and keys in the car ... even when you were not there.  If someone needed a ride, you gave it to them and they thanked you with words, not a gun or knife.  People took pride in themselves and their word meant more than anything.  You didn't lie or cheat or go back on your word.  Back then, you made a deal with words and a shake of the hand ... and both parties knew it was a done deal and both sides would follow through.  It is a time so many will never know, because I think, it is gone forever.

Na not gone Jo Ann, not everywhere yet!

Times haven't changed as much here in Newfoundland.
Oh we lock our doors these days, perscription drugs are now sold on the streets and it costs to feed the habits.
Our cops only got guns a few years ago, let alone me needing to carry one.
We get fools trying to rob the corner store with baseball bats, and a scattered knife. I say fools as most get scared them off by the clerks. Their too stoned to know what they are doing.
A scattered bank gets held up, but no guns involved as of yet.
I am not afraid to walk any street in Newfoundland alone, and unarmed.
We still great strangers on the streets, and a handshake still is Gospel.
I'm the only sibling of 6 that stayed, the rest traded the peace of mind for the weather.

[Jo Ann]

Must be nice.  The city council and sheriff's department say we have no gangs here ... but they are just playing ostrich ... or they think the general public is to stupid to know otherwise.  As long as they do not acknowledge it, it does not exist ... or so, I think, they must think. 
 
Memphis was bad in 1969 when we first got there, but over the next 23 years, I watched it go down hill forever changed. 
And now, I watch the Roanoke Valley do the same, only faster ... I've been here only 15 years and things have changed drastically. 

Oh, how I envy you.  And you can tell your siblings ... you are the only smart one in the bunch. 

Enjoy your way of life while you can, for the majority of us are in an age of instant news, instant gratification, in a throw-away society that can't see the trash piling up.

 
Jo Ann

[Donna]

JoAnn,
     I think this was a great article to help women be more aware. I am a single woman that needs a wake up call once in awhile to be careful. Indianapolis is not the safe town it was when I was a child, and sometimes I forget that. We must all be very careful or who would feed the chins!
                                                                     Donna

[Dan]

Wow!! All of those stories spooked me out...the things people would do. Luckily, I'm a guy, but some freak could probably still want to endanger me! I liked your last comment Donna, "Who would feed the chins!" 

[nemue]

Sort of on topic:  When my niece was born my brother and his wife lived in Africa.  The babysitter kidnapped my niece adn was gone for a day!  They got her back, adn quickly came home (to New York).