Leander girl runs from stranger
Updated: 8/22/2006 9:30:50 PM
By: News 8 Austin StaffWilliamson County authorities are looking for what they call a
“person of interest” in connection with an incident near Pleasant Hill Elementary School in Leander.A third-grade student there told authorities she was approached by a man in a green van in the Vista Oaks subdivision Monday.
The girl immediately ran away to a nearby home.
On Tuesday, the Leander Independent School District sent a notice to parents, advising them of what happened.
The girl's mother, Becki Malan, said her daughter did the right thing.
“[I would tell parents] to watch everything, everything. And most importantly to tell your children what to do in a situation like that, because if you don't tell them, or the school doesn't tell them, if it's up to you, that they know what to do. And if they don't, a second's hesitation could have made all the difference in what happened yesterday, the fact that she, her first instinct was to run, and that could have saved her life,” Malan said.
The Williamson County Sheriff's Office is continuing its investigation of this case. Anyone with information is asked to call Deputy Don Zachary at (deleted)
'Stranger' turns out to be postal worker
Updated: 8/23/2006 12:58:13 PM
By: News 8 Austin StaffWilliamson County authorities say they don?t suspect any criminal intent over Monday?s incident where an 8-year-old girl said she was approached by a stranger in the Vista Oaks subdivision in Leander.
The girl was making her way to Pleasant Hill Elementary School.
A postal worker came forward Wednesday and said he had no intention of abducting the girl. He told the little girl to cross the road and she panicked and ran away, he said.
On Tuesday, the Leander Independent School District sent a notice to parents, advising them of what happened.
Authorities said the girl did the right thing by erring on the side of caution and going immediately to a nearby neighbor's house.
At a local restaurant, people spoke about the incident, and their own behavior, has changed over the years.
“I'm a little more conscious when giving that child I haven't seen in a while a hug. I just don't want to offend anybody or have anybody react,” restaurant patron Lori Bland said.
“You may have good intentions, but you can't only just act on that now or help out or do what you need to do. Me personally, I'm ingrained with, 'What potential ramifications am I going to face if this child is scared of me?' ” restaurant patron Cody Bland said.
Many adults said they find it hard to approach children that are not their own these days.
Their worst fear is something like Monday's misunderstanding could happen to them.
“I think if those allegations are brought upon people, sometimes the child's word is taken against theirs, and it would be a tough thing to defend,? restaurant patron Chad Stowe said.
And with the media playing up these events, courts are seeing more child molestation cases.
“A perfect example would be sexual harassment. That wasn't an issue that was brought into courts until the late ?80s to early ?90s, when it became part of the public consciousness,? attorney Luke Ellis said.
Regardless of the implications some adults said they would never walk away from a child in need.
You know, I've made no secret of the fact that I don't want kids, that most peoples' kids are annoying, and that even well brought up children are exhausting to be around.
But 10, 15 years ago, I wouldn't have hesitated to comfort a crying child, or help a lost child in a store find his parents. Now? Huh uh. I'd just walk away. If I didn't, I'd seriously think twice before helping.
How does this fear, shared by many, keep children safe??
And if I, a woman, feel this way, how much worse for a man?
My eyes started rolling when the first “story” broke … I mean really, “Oh my GOD! Someone spoke to my CHILD!” When I read the followup, I think I puked a little. Really. It’s beyond stupid. My parents taught me about strangers too, something along the lines of “it’s ok to talk to them, but keep your distance, don’t go with them, and if they start getting too close, move along (quickly if necessary)” … not “run as soon as someone you don’t know talks to you.”
I used to talk to kids, help kids, comfort lost kids, and now … I try not to even see kids, because the last thing we need is for someone to think I’m a pedophile just because I dared speak to their child (or heaven forbid touch them). I stopped seeing children at all after an incident standing at the grocery checkout. Cute kid sitting in basket in front of me. She’s smiling at me and waving and making cute kid faces. Mom is standing right there (not paying attention). I smile and wave and making silly faces back. Mom notices, and from the ass-chewing I got from her, you would have thought I had grabbed the kid and was making a run for the door. “You DO NOT talk to other people’s kids!!!!” Now for all I care, I’d sit and watch a kid run out into traffic and just make a mark on the side of Darwin’s Law. That’s sad, because I used to be a teacher and a daycare worker, and I love kids, but it’s just not worth it to care. Too much risk.
You had to know this would push my buttons, right? LOL!
I stopped seeing children at all after an incident standing at the grocery checkout. Cute kid sitting in basket in front of me. She’s smiling at me and waving and making cute kid faces. Mom is standing right there (not paying attention). I smile and wave and making silly faces back. Mom notices, and from the ass-chewing I got from her, you would have thought I had grabbed the kid and was making a run for the door. “You DO NOT talk to other people’s kids!!!!”
OMG, tell me you’re kidding. I know you’re not, of course. GAH. Hell, I do this sometimes, if I’m in an extremely good mood and the kid is really cute and not annoying.
Ridiculous.
Not kidding, unfortunately. I seriously just stood there with my mouth hanging open. Rendered speechless … an oddity for me. Then, I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. Thankfully, the assembled “audience” of other shoppers stared at her like she was insane rather than giving me the evil eye. :D
If kid’s dont interact with strangers at all, they aren’t going to learn how to interact and judge people for the rest of their lives. You have to learn to talk to strangers and determine their “creepiness” factor at some point. Of course, that would require parents to teach their kids something, and I see very little of that going on these days. It’s a whole lot easier telling them to freak out when anyone talks to them than it is to explain the difference between proper “talking” and improper “talking”.
Poor kid.