What to Do if You Turn Around and Your Child Has Vanished

It’s every parent’s worst nightmare, and it happened to this mum on a day out at the beach.

The post on Oliver’s Outing has struck a chord with thousands of parents around the world.

In the post, Vicky talks about a heart-stopping incident which happened to her sister Lucinda, when she lost her four-year-old son, Jake, during a family outing at the beach.

“Jake was just 4-years-old at the time and like every other child, he knew not to ever talk to strangers or leave his parents when out, so what went wrong?

“It was very busy so Lucinda (his mum) was holding his hand, Jake is a shy boy so had no interest in leaving her side anyway.

“They stopped to look at a stall and she let go of his hand to pick something up, it was just a couple of minutes, if that.

“When she looked round to take his hand he wasn’t there!

“While trying to stay calm and telling herself he wouldn’t go far she started to look around and call his name, still couldn’t see him.

“Within a matter of minutes an army cadet who was stewarding the event spotted Lucinda and immediately asked what had happened and who she was looking for.

What you need to know

“He wasted no time and himself and the other guys stewarding started shouting ‘we are looking for a boy’, ‘He is 4-years old, blonde and in a red T shirt. Have you seen him?’

“They repeated this loudly and constantly as they covered the areas nearby.

“Now this may seem an obvious and simple thing but the quick timing and detail they shouted was undoubtedly what saved him!

“Within about 15 minutes they found him a little further down the beach…”

Stranger danger

But Vicky continues that: “The detail Jake gave would make any parent’s blood run cold…

“‘There was a bald man in a white T shirt, he said he would take me to see a real rocket ship’.’

“He wasn’t inclined to lie as a child and this seemed very genuine.

“It’s awful to think men like this are around and near our children but they are and sadly some get away with it.

Remember what they are wearing

“By very quickly shouting out the description of Jake and that he was lost, it meant the guy couldn’t leave the beach without being spotted, so he just left Jake and walked away.

“I would urge every parent to do this immediately, even if you suspect they are just round the corner, what’s the worst that could happen, you are slightly embarrassed because they hadn’t gone anywhere?

“The police think this was an unplanned abduction, He had to walk a fair way on the beach before he could get to the road, so it was risky.”

“I truly hope none of you are ever in this situation but if you are then just shout, loud and clear, who you are looking for and what they look like. ”

How terrifying! Definitely some important info to remember if ever in a similar situation.

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24 Comments

- - rnash02 said
  - 14 Jun 2019
    12:31 pm
Great advice
I’ve had my son go missing at a shopping centre, very scary

- - MrsA said
  - 13 Jun 2019
    7:58 pm
Omg that is so scary. Great tip to remember though!

- - mom111059 said
  - 30 Jun 2018
    11:47 pm
It’s certainly not a safe world.

- - mom206279 said
  - 18 Jun 2018
    12:18 pm
This is the article I commented about the other day!! I’m so glad its gone viral. Its such great information!

- - mom265671 said
  - 18 Jun 2018
    12:52 am
Gives me chillls reading this and what could’ve been a bad outcome. Such great reminder to be alert always and have our kids reminded about safety.

- - rachelvk said
  - 17 Jun 2018
    4:10 pm
Terrifying. Glad everything worked out. I lost mister 4 at Harris Scarfe the other day… he was hiding behind a shelf of pillows and thought he was hilarious. I didn’t laugh.

- - littlehandsofmine said
  - 16 Jun 2018
    8:35 pm
I’m glad he was ok.

- - mom111059 said
  - 16 Jun 2018
    3:42 pm
A terrible thing to happen when a child goes missing. You would never recover from that.

- - mom112217 said
  - 16 Jun 2018
    9:24 am
You do not want to go through this it is horrible.

- - Ellen said
  - 16 Jun 2018
    8:29 am
Terrifying indeed and I can so relate to this !
My youngest is 4,5 and has Down Syndrome. Our house is a fortress with all kind of locks, but yet she managed to escape this week. She has no awareness of danger or strangers. She was found on the middle of a busy 4lane road at 4.30pm, so traffic was heavy. I’m still not recovered of the scare.
I’m considering to make an information sheet about her describing who she is and where she lives and to please bring her in safety and contact us when she walking alone on the road and handing this out in our neighbourhood.

- - mom256827 said
  - 16 Jun 2018
    8:18 am
Most sickening feeling a parent could ever have , but sadly this is happening frequently now . I doubt a parent ever recovers completely from the bad experience . Bad feelings everytime they leave their safety zone would cause anxiety for everyone.

- - mom93821 said
  - 16 Jun 2018
    7:18 am
A child vanishing is the most sickening feeling – even if it is only for a moment or two.

- - mom111059 said
  - 15 Jun 2018
    9:20 pm
Having a photo with you is a really good idea. It is such a sad thing that we have to worry about abduction but it does happen. My heart goes out to all the unfortunate parents affected. I’m glad this time it turned out well.

- - mom160421 said
  - 15 Jun 2018
    8:49 pm
I’m so glad of the outcome of this story. It could have ended so badly. With so many child abduction stories, it’s no wonder parents are petrified to let their children go anywhere.

- - ashna9 said
  - 15 Jun 2018
    7:53 pm
This is a good approach. When e go to a big event I often take a photo of my kids to remind me what they were wearing.
- cherz replied
  
  15 Jun 2018 , 8:58 pm
  What a smart idea ashna.
  Also thank you mom for the tip.
  - mom90758 replied
    
    16 Jun 2018 , 6:56 pm
    
    I love the idea too. If something happens, in the middle of the commotion, it’s very easy to forget important details.
- - BellaB said
  - 15 Jun 2018
    7:29 pm
Very simple and practical advice. I’ve heard of a similar approach working before.

- - mom90758 said
  - 15 Jun 2018
    6:38 pm
Luckily it went fine. So scary. Once it happened to me. I was with another mum and her daughter. We were talking and suddenly the girls were gone. They had entered in a toy shop that was just there, on the main square where we were, but they didn’t tell us. Luckily we thought immediately that they could have run there.

- - rachel1970 said
  - 15 Jun 2018
    6:32 pm
I just felt so sick reading this. All the ‘imagine if’s’ running through my mind. Thanks God he was found safe and escaped something terrible happening to him.

- - Staceylee101 said
  - 15 Jun 2018
    5:15 pm
Woah that little boy was so lucky on this day. Could have been a worse outcome. I’ll keep this advice if ever need it and I hope not to.

- - mom81879 said
  - 15 Jun 2018
    4:48 pm
This only happened to us once. My 3 yo daughter hiding in the clothing racks in BigW. It wasn’t for long but it’s definitely heart attack time.