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American Morning
Safety Tips For Kids to Avoid Abductions
Aired February 05, 2004 - 09:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We want to talk for a moment now about what children and adults can do to prevent abductions like this. Bob Stuber is a safety expert. He is in Sacramento this morning to talk more about this.
Bob, thanks for being with us. A lot of people are thinking now it could happen to them. How can they protect themselves?
BOB STUBER, SAFETY EXPERT: Well, there's a lot of things you can do to protect yourselves. And that's one thing parents should be thinking about because the one point I really want to stress is that even though this guy is in Florida and they have him in custody, there's a counterpart to him everywhere in this country, just about every neighborhood.
These guys are smart, they're insidious, they're determined and they're formidable enemies. So you have to make sure you do instruct your children. Don't just say don't go off with strangers. You have to be more specific.
If you reference that video of this young lady, you can see that she was being taken away. She needed to do something. She needed to react. We need to teach our kids that in that situation, there's things you can do.
I want to show you a great tactic. Elizabeth is going to help me. Elizabeth is 11 years old. And we call this the "windmill maneuver."
Now, if I had hold of you, Elizabeth -- and I'm bigger than her and I'm stronger than her. You're not going to pull away. You can fight all you want, but I'm going to win.
But instead if were smart, if you rotated your arm like a big windmill -- do it one time, real fast. OK. Now, if I'm holding Elizabeth -- even a little kid is being held by a big kid and they do this, one, two, go. Like that, you can break the hold. When she turned my hand upside down, I couldn't hold her.
Now Elizabeth could turn, she could run away, she could get the help she needs. That's what I mean by giving kids practical information.
COLLINS: And that's a great tactic to be using there, Bob. Thanks very much for that.
I also want to go through, if we could quickly, some more points here as far as what parents can teach to their children.
The first one that we have, tips to avoid kidnapping. Never walk over to a car. We hear so often that once you get in the car, your chances for being taken away and hurt increase.
STUBER: Absolutely. You cannot tell a child that enough because as you've seen in this tape, again, these guys are very determined and very tricky. They know how to trick kids. You do not walk over to anybody's car for any reason. Period.
COLLINS: Also, avoid being alone. And don't take short cuts. And also, use noise, yell, scream. A lot of time I think kids are sometimes afraid to do that because their abductor, if you will, is telling them, if you say a word, I am going to hurt you.
STUBER: Yes, you nailed it right on the head. This is where what the parent teaches is really going to be relied on. Tell your child no matter what this person says, no matter what they say, even if they threaten you, do not listen to them. Listen to me. You can make as much noise as you want to.
And a tip for all you parents. Better than yelling and screaming is a whistle. Kids can keep a whistle in their pocket. When you blow a whistle, it carries farther, it attracts more attention. And kids will not yell and scream when they're in trouble just because you tell them to. You have to let them practice it.
COLLINS: All right, Bob, we've got a few more that we want to make sure we get to this morning. Grab a big object and hold on to it. What do you mean by this?
STUBER: This is a great tip. Most abductions lead to an automobile. If a kid was on a bicycle, for instance, they could hold that bicycle. If you hold that bike and do not let go, it's impossible to put you in a car.
We've done this with kids. Even a kid 5-years-old can hold a bike such a way that you can't pry it loose. If you don't have a bike, somebody's trying to get you in a car, grab a garbage can, a big long stick. Anything that prevents you from being put in that car could save your life.
COLLINS: All right, we got three left here. Quickly, if a person has a gun, try to run, try to get away.
STUBER: No matter what that person says, they pull out a gun, get in my car, you do not listen, you run. If you get in the car, you're going to end up alone with this person and it's going to be terrible.
If you run there's only a very slim chance he will even shoot at you. And if he did, and he did hit you, you would still be safer in public than out in the woods.
COLLINS: All right and the last two. Do not help an adult that you don't know. And also, remember calling 911 from a pay phone is free.
STUBER: That is so important. Most people do not realize that even if you don't have money, you can dial 911 from a pay phone and the cops know where you're at. Even if you don't know where you're at, they have the location within two seconds.
COLLINS: All right, very good. Bob Stuber, thanks so very much for important information this morning.
STUBER: My pleasure.
COLLINS: We sure do appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 5, 2004 - 09:18 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We want to talk for a moment now about what children and adults can do to prevent abductions like this. Bob Stuber is a safety expert. He is in Sacramento this morning to talk more about this.
Bob, thanks for being with us. A lot of people are thinking now it could happen to them. How can they protect themselves?
BOB STUBER, SAFETY EXPERT: Well, there's a lot of things you can do to protect yourselves. And that's one thing parents should be thinking about because the one point I really want to stress is that even though this guy is in Florida and they have him in custody, there's a counterpart to him everywhere in this country, just about every neighborhood.
These guys are smart, they're insidious, they're determined and they're formidable enemies. So you have to make sure you do instruct your children. Don't just say don't go off with strangers. You have to be more specific.
If you reference that video of this young lady, you can see that she was being taken away. She needed to do something. She needed to react. We need to teach our kids that in that situation, there's things you can do.
I want to show you a great tactic. Elizabeth is going to help me. Elizabeth is 11 years old. And we call this the "windmill maneuver."
Now, if I had hold of you, Elizabeth -- and I'm bigger than her and I'm stronger than her. You're not going to pull away. You can fight all you want, but I'm going to win.
But instead if were smart, if you rotated your arm like a big windmill -- do it one time, real fast. OK. Now, if I'm holding Elizabeth -- even a little kid is being held by a big kid and they do this, one, two, go. Like that, you can break the hold. When she turned my hand upside down, I couldn't hold her.
Now Elizabeth could turn, she could run away, she could get the help she needs. That's what I mean by giving kids practical information.
COLLINS: And that's a great tactic to be using there, Bob. Thanks very much for that.
I also want to go through, if we could quickly, some more points here as far as what parents can teach to their children.
The first one that we have, tips to avoid kidnapping. Never walk over to a car. We hear so often that once you get in the car, your chances for being taken away and hurt increase.
STUBER: Absolutely. You cannot tell a child that enough because as you've seen in this tape, again, these guys are very determined and very tricky. They know how to trick kids. You do not walk over to anybody's car for any reason. Period.
COLLINS: Also, avoid being alone. And don't take short cuts. And also, use noise, yell, scream. A lot of time I think kids are sometimes afraid to do that because their abductor, if you will, is telling them, if you say a word, I am going to hurt you.
STUBER: Yes, you nailed it right on the head. This is where what the parent teaches is really going to be relied on. Tell your child no matter what this person says, no matter what they say, even if they threaten you, do not listen to them. Listen to me. You can make as much noise as you want to.
And a tip for all you parents. Better than yelling and screaming is a whistle. Kids can keep a whistle in their pocket. When you blow a whistle, it carries farther, it attracts more attention. And kids will not yell and scream when they're in trouble just because you tell them to. You have to let them practice it.
COLLINS: All right, Bob, we've got a few more that we want to make sure we get to this morning. Grab a big object and hold on to it. What do you mean by this?
STUBER: This is a great tip. Most abductions lead to an automobile. If a kid was on a bicycle, for instance, they could hold that bicycle. If you hold that bike and do not let go, it's impossible to put you in a car.
We've done this with kids. Even a kid 5-years-old can hold a bike such a way that you can't pry it loose. If you don't have a bike, somebody's trying to get you in a car, grab a garbage can, a big long stick. Anything that prevents you from being put in that car could save your life.
COLLINS: All right, we got three left here. Quickly, if a person has a gun, try to run, try to get away.
STUBER: No matter what that person says, they pull out a gun, get in my car, you do not listen, you run. If you get in the car, you're going to end up alone with this person and it's going to be terrible.
If you run there's only a very slim chance he will even shoot at you. And if he did, and he did hit you, you would still be safer in public than out in the woods.
COLLINS: All right and the last two. Do not help an adult that you don't know. And also, remember calling 911 from a pay phone is free.
STUBER: That is so important. Most people do not realize that even if you don't have money, you can dial 911 from a pay phone and the cops know where you're at. Even if you don't know where you're at, they have the location within two seconds.
COLLINS: All right, very good. Bob Stuber, thanks so very much for important information this morning.
STUBER: My pleasure.
COLLINS: We sure do appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
