This tale from the mall stirs my insides with anxiety just thinking about that horrifying day when my son was kidnapped. I can look back now and reminisce how my baby was snatched from the buggy when I turned my back for a second, but at the time my insides wrenched as fear turned me into a frantic hunter.
My husband and I were at the mall with our eight-year old daughter and two-year old son looking for a birthday gift for his mother. She was an elderly woman who had exquisite taste and the luxury of never being in need, so finding a gift that would be suitable was a challenge. We searched the mall and found a novelty store that sold thousands of expensive ornaments and crystal knick-knack items. We knew that we would find the perfect gift there.
Mike took Kirstyn's hand while I pushed Joey in the buggy but as we approached the entrance of the store we realized that it wouldn't be wise to take Joey inside. He was at the stage where he grabbed everything he could reach and the aisles in this store were too close for comfort. We didn't want to purchase more than the one item we came for.
I waited outside the store with the kids and sat on a nearby bench while Mike went inside to look around. He had a particular porcelain doll in mind and so he went in to inquire about it. Several minutes later he came back out and told me that he found three but he wanted me to take a look and make the final choice.
I knew we couldn't bring the children inside and so I took some treats out from my Mary Popin's bag and gave each of them one. I pulled the buggy to as close to the door as I could and instructed my daughter to stand there and not move. I would be just inside the store and would return within a few seconds.
I edged my way into the store and didn't take my eyes of the kids as my husband pulled me along to the stand with the dolls. I would just take a quick look, pick one and return to the kids right away. As I stood in front of the dolls, Kirstyn waved to me with a big smile on her face and I could see the top of Joey's head as he crunched away at his treat. Everything seemed fine so I looked sideways at the three dolls.
It wasn't even five seconds later that Kirstyn screamed and I ran, knocking over a few things along the way the very thing I was trying to avoid.
Her face was agonized with tears as she cried out repeatedly, That lady took him. I tried to stop her but she took him.
My heart fell to my feet and my breath caught in my chest as I tried to keep my composure and get the facts straight from her. But Joey was gone! Mike and I stood there turning in circles but there was no sign of him anywhere.
I grabbed everyone and anyone around me asking if they seen my baby but the answer was always the same. No one had seen anything. Several people offered to help as we gave a quick description of what he looked like and what he was wearing.
The clerk in the novelty store took our buggy inside as more very sincere shoppers offered to search nearby shops, washrooms and entrances. One storekeeper called for security and the more people that got involved, the faster my heart raced and the more I began to shake inside.
We searched frantically around us, running up down the main lobby and calling out his name. I lost all my passive etiquette that day as I started to grab people and ask if they'd seen my son. I called out for him so frantically that the mall became quiet and the only sounds audible were the screams of people calling out for Joey.
I had this gnawing feeling inside me to check the service desk at the far end of the mall, but I was too scared to jump up and leave the search to run to the other side. Two security officers with walkie-talkies were running in and out of stores in their efforts to find Joey. There was still no clue of his existence anywhere.
After several minutes, which actually felt like eternity, the gnawing inside me to check the service desk grew so intensely that I couldn't focus. I ran ahead and grabbed the shirt of one of the security officers and asked him to call the service desk.
They just have a five-year old girl who they are watching while their mother uses the washroom, he said.
My heart sank again as my chest pounded so hard that I thought it would explode. I couldn't shake the feeling to check the service desk so I told my husband that I was going to check it out.
As I approached the desk, I could hear a child screaming and crying hysterically. A woman was on the loud speaker asking if anyone had lost a little boy and my heart almost leaped out of my chest.
Joey!
I ripped him out of her arms and he wrapped his arms around my neck so tight that it hurt, but I didn't care. I stood there holding him and we both cried for several minutes as Mike and Kirstyn and many other people joined us.
The clerk at the service desk said that some woman had shoved Joey at her saying that he wouldn't shut up and that he bit her face. After that, Joey's screams and cries were so loud that no one could concentrate on anything else.
Sadly - and I mean that because of the horrors of such a criminal offence - the woman was never found. I was so relieved and happy to find Joey that it never occurred to me at that time to pursue her. I'm sure security did go after her, but she disappeared without a trace.
I never imagined that leaving him twenty feet away from me was irresponsible especially when I didn't take my eyes off of him for more than five seconds, and I left him with our eight-year old daughter. I was wrong. Five seconds is too long. And when I go in malls now and I see young children trailing behind their parents as the latter engage in conversation, my insides churn with worry. I have tried to suggest to some mothers to not do it, but my concerns are not appreciated.
What I do appreciate with all heart, though, is the help and love that all those shoppers showed my family on that one horrific day many years ago. The words, thank you, will never fully express my gratitude for their acts of kindness. They stayed with me, as hysterical as I was, and together we got the victory and shared tears of joy.