***This is based on a true story, one known to the author. Names have been changed to protect individual identities. Retold with permission***
My sister's friend, Tess had gone to the mall during a busy holiday season several years ago in order to purchase Christmas gifts for family and friends when the unthinkable happened. She had brought along her 5-year-old son, Antonio and despite her best efforts to keep an eye on him, she suddenly realized that he had vanished while she was paying for her purchases.
It was every parent's worst nightmare. A child missing in a busy mall with people loaded with shopping bags jostling for space every which where. Tess was on the verge of panic when, fortunately, she recalled a story she had read about a mom who had lost her son while shopping and the strategy the mom had used to find her son. The strategy was to be loud while searching for your missing child in order to get other shoppers involved in the search. The benefits of searching loud are two-fold as there are now more people looking for the child as opposed to just one and it may dissuade a kidnapper from getting away with a child if that was in fact the case.
Word quickly spread of her missing child, and concerned shoppers joined in the search for the little tow-head wearing a Super Mario Bros t-shirt. Within a few minutes, they were able to locate Antonio crying at the main entrance to the mall.
The little boy had wandered off from his mom and quickly gotten lost in the crowd. He had somehow found his way to the entrance where he was calling for his mom and crying. Although some passers-by were trying to help him, they had not been able to understand what he was trying to say.
Luckily for Tess and little Antonio, their story had a happy ending.
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