Strathmore’s parents are having important conversations with their children as local police continue to search for two men who say they abducted a girl on Tuesday afternoon in the southern city of Alberta.
The RCMP said the boy was forced into a white four-door truck while waiting in the drop-off area of the school bus. They then took her to a nearby house where she managed to escape.
The girl was safely located two hours later and taken to Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary, but the incident is causing great concern among community members.
Chandra Permann has five young daughters and a son of her own and was surprised to hear the news.
“It was certainly disturbing to hear that something like this has happened in our city,” he said.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations with our girls about understanding safety and not approaching any vehicles that might approach them, always going to a safe place if they feel uncomfortable.”
Other mothers, such as Cynthia Moore, add that awareness is key to stopping a kidnapping attempt on the runway.
“This is terrifying, absolutely terrifying.” said Moore.
“My kids are so small, so I definitely talked to them last night about the‘ weird danger. ’It’s a real thing and I think people might feel a little safer in a small community, but as parents definitely need to be talking to our kids. “
Kidnappings are scary, but Amanda Pick, director general of the Missing Children’s Society of Canada, says this is a great opportunity for parents to sit down with their children.
“Play a role play with your child and ask them ‘what would you do’ and then instruct them to shout, be loud to try to escape. I think children think that saying no sometimes to an adult is not an answer. natural for them, but they have to know how to trust their instincts, “said Pick.
“And as soon as they feel safe, they have the ability to say no and I think another very good thing for children to understand or for parents to explain is that adults ask for information from adults, you know. if an adult asks a child for directions or you know something like that, it ‘s not appropriate. “
Pick adds that parents should also know who their children’s friends are and bring their children to the community to make sure they know where the safe places are.
STRATHMORE RCMP PUBLISHES SUSPECTED DESCRIPTIONS
The RCMP on Thursday released descriptions of two suspects involved in the abduction of a girl in the southern city of Alberta earlier this week.
According to police, both have fair skin and are well shaven.
The first suspect had long black hair and was wearing a black hat and a black “Zoo York” sweater.
The second suspect was wearing a white shirt and gray sweatpants.
The suspicious vehicle is described as a white four-door van with a gray interior.
Sgt. Mark Wielgosz says the investigation is ongoing and that his team “will not leave a stone unturned.”
“Right now, we are following all the clues we can discover. Our investigators have explored the area where the incident occurred and we are continuing to deploy resources dedicated to this investigation,” he said.
“We have also used the assistance of our police service dogs for searches in the areas and we plan to continue their investigation until we hope to reach a satisfactory conclusion.”
Wielgosz points out that the exact location of the incident will not yet be made public so as not to compromise the investigation.
He adds that the incident itself is very rare and says it is a good reminder for the public to be alert to any suspicious activity.
“We live in a safe rural community and strive to keep our community safe, so we need to take care of each other, and in particular our Strathmore youth,” Wielgosz said.
“It’s important for parents to make sure their kids have a smart device to take with them, to make sure their kids know how to call their parents, pre-set dials, as well as 911 if necessary and, obviously don’t talk to strangers. ”
STRATHMORE CITY SUPPORTS DUGGLER’S FAMILY SUPPORT
Strathmore Mayor Pat Fule says the community is shocked by what has happened, but is grateful that the girl who was abducted is now safe.
“The city is ready to help the family and offer any kind of support services we can offer and we are also very confident in our local RCMP, they have done a great job over the years here and we know they will be there too.” , said Fule
“I think Strathmore residents are usually very good at being aware of what’s going on and keeping an eye on things, but that’s a definite concern for the whole community and I’m sure people will be watching as we move forward.”
According to statistics provided by the National Center for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains of the RCMP, in 2021 there were no abductions of strangers in Alberta and 18 abductions of strangers across Canada.
The incident in Strathmore is extremely rare, but the recent prevalence of kidnappings in Alberta is creating a disturbing mood in smaller communities.
In addition to the Strathmore incident, the Cochrane RCMP is investigating reports of an 11-year-old girl who managed to escape a lure attempt on Monday.
Another incident in Cardston, Alta. May 17 involved the attempted kidnapping of a 25-year-old woman who was forced into her vehicle by a man.
Anyone with information related to an abduction incident should contact their local police, the RCMP or give anonymous advice to Crime Stoppers.
Strathmore is about 53 miles east of Calgary.
Anyone with information is asked to call Strathmore RCMP at 403-934-3968 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.