If your child went missing?

Question

Good Morning!! Many of us have children and of course have gone through the toddler stage. I remember several months ago thinking it was odd that my then 3 year old was awfully quite while I was up and about doing house work. I came upstairs from the downstairs cleaning to check on him and asking his brothers where he was and they said in his room playing. I went in and he was not in there so of course panic overtook me. My 4 other sons and I frantically searched the house and outside thinking he somehow got out which was near impossible. After about 10-15 minutes I picked up the phone and called 911. While I was talking to 911 my oldest son came and and said come see this. While still on the phone with the police I found my 3 year old sound asleep amongst my 8 year olds 115 stuffed animals that he collects. Imagine wheres waldo. He was tucked in with all of them and covered with a blanket so I didnt see him when I had checked his brothers top bunk. We all have or should have panic

stories such as this one if you have or have had children. And if you have babies right now just you wait. Boys like to hide especially LOL. Anyway would I have searched my acre and half of land and house for 2 more hours looking for him well obviously not. I want to know how long it would take for you to phone the police if your child dissappeared while in his own home?

I just find it quite strange that McCanns waited so long to phone police. Why would they do that? I could see even 30 minutes of looking but waiting a couple of hours? I just can't wrap my brain around that.

Oh Ava that must have been horrible for you. Toddlers are quick little ones and just way to curious. Glad she was found safely. It just goes to show that you can not turn your back on a toddler for even a split second. Things like this do happen and toddlers have to be watched so closely. We can't stay glued to them for every second but it just reassures my thoughts that leaving them alone for hours is so dangerous.

SweetJane definately. My youngest who is now 4 has given me a run for my money. He recently got in the refrigerator. Of course only for a minute because I heard the door close and got up to look immediatly and he was in their singing..."its cold its cold its cold in the frigerator" I can't take my eyes off of him. But as you said what if I was one of those parents that let my toddler go hours without checking to see what they are doing.

I was not worried about kidnapping as I was him getting hit by a car. We live on a stretch of road where the speed limit is 55 so cars actually drive between 65-70. He has never gone anywhere near the road but it takes just once ya know. He can't get out because I have locks so high up but it only takes one of the older ones to go out and leave the door open or forget to lock the saftey lock at the top.

Answer 1

I have two boys and I had a scare with my 3 year old younger one as well.

All of a sudden, it was really silent, I thought he was in his room playing with his older brother,
But since he started opening the front door,
when I couldn't find him I thought he'd wandered off.
I screamed his name, in the back yard, in the front,
and after about a minute, it turns out he was in my bathroom, quietly playing in the tub.

My heart raced and I panicked, but there is always that sigh of relief when you find them.

I can't imagine that panicking never going away, it must be unbearable to lose a child.

You really have to keep your hawk eye on them at all times and know where they are,

When I hear about kids playing and locking themselves in the trunk, and die
I wonder, my god, how long were they without supervision?

That's like the first place everyone should look, in the most dangerous spot,
because kids will do strange and stupid things, you have to keep such a tight watch on them.

Answer 2

I'm not sure what story you are talking about, but I imagine that even if you lived on 200 acres, you wouldn't wait that long to call. I've wondered a lot about some of these "parents". I've had a similar PANIC. It took me about 10 min. to find my child. He was right there asleep in his bed amongst the blankets. As a last resort, I jumped up on the bed to see if he had maybe fallen between the bed and the wall, and my knee hit his leg. There he was ! My kids are older now, but I still watch them closely. The world has gotten so bad, that parents are going to have to start doing something themselves about the child molesters and etc..... It was not this way when we were growing up. Our parents didn't worry about someone wanting to steal us. ("HUMBLE ....living on an acre of land can be scary too, or even if you live in the middle of 3-8000 acres, because the perverts can sneak up and hide behind things.There's also other hazards, like wild animals, farm machinery , etc.... I've taught mine to be aware of everything going on around them.

Answer 3

I think they were hoping that the child would be found and may have wandered off and they didn't notice. Kids are pretty stealthy at times.
No one wants to believe there kids was kidnapped and that the kid is hidden somewhere nearby.(The it can't happen to me)
It' sad that parents have to keep a 24/7 on kids these days...but going back in time there has actually been a decrease in stranger abductions...it only sees like there is more because of TV and the medias hype to throw fear into people.(More money)
Your story brings to mind that my daughter threw a scare into us when she was 5..she wanted to walk to school all by herself..right I saw that happening...so we followed her..but some how she took a turn when we lost sight of here for a few seconds...we freaked out...turns out she stopped by a freinds house.

Answer 4

well, i have a 7 year old daughter and fortunately i haven't had an experience like that when she was little. well she's still a baby for us. anyways, i prepared myself and my daughter in case these things happen to us. she loves to wander around the mall especially in toys section. so the first thing i taught her when he learns how to speak, is her full name, my name and our phone number. so if ever she gets lost in the mall, i told her to approach a sales lady/man or a uniformed security and tell them she's lost. she's to tell her name and my name so they can page me. well as for her being lost in our own home, it never happened too, because she's never left alone when she was small, it's always a rule that someone has to be with her anytime of the day. whenever she sleeps or plays someone's with her. i also taught her to respond whenever someone calls her. so if ever that happened to us, i might've gone insane looking for her, and the minute she's out of our sight, i'd call the police, so while i'll wait for the police...i'll look around the house. its hard being a mother, because we're the ones who usually go through disasters that our little bundle of joys concocted. but looking back, it will put a smile on our face remembering how they made us look funny frantically looking for them when they're just sleeping amongst the stuffed animals that one of his brothers collects. I dunno about the McCanns, i dunno what's going in their minds to wait that long.

Answer 5

i would have to be absolutely certain before i phone the police that he is gone. But i would conduct my own search first........ plus...... if you have 1 and a half acre of land, i'm sure the 3 year old wouldn't have been able to leave your property that quick.

Answer 6

while shopping in the mall my 4 year old was sitting under the clothing rack while i looked 5 minutes later i call her out and i get no response, i move the clothes apart to find her not there...i screamed and ran around the store crying for people to help me find my baby, i called the police instantly....she ended up wandering out of Macys into a pet store!!! i was hysterical.

Answer 7

Better to be safe than sorry. You were smart to call 911. Thank God you had a happy ending.

I bet he looked really cute tucked in there (after your heart came back to where it belonged).

Answer 8

i would search the house very well, yelling so so loud, lol. and then call 911, wow, yea i would panic so much if that were to happen.

Answer 9

i would call my husband during the first 5 minutes and then immediately call the police

Answer 10

I know exactly how you feel... happened to me so many times..