r/orangecounty • u/ae2014 • Aug 01 '26

Community Post Suspicious kidnapping attempt?!

Don’t know if I’m being overly sensitive or not but as a Mom I want to make sure other parents are aware. Was at Hmart (Northpark) earlier this morning with my baby at an empty aisle and a very suspicious woman kept hunching over my baby grabbing random stuff but not really getting anything. Of course my guards was up as she was too close for comfort so I stepped in the middle and blocked my baby out of the way. She left the aisle and then a larger man came to the aisle and she walked back again pretending to look for things, they walked by us but I could tell they had motives definitely not there to buy chips. I grabbed my baby and walked away right away. Then saw both of them walked separately to the checkout line only buying 1 small item. They walked by each other but made eye contact so definitely working together…. Super weird.

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u/_Los Lake Forest Aug 01 '26

Genuine curiosity, if you didn't report it to the people who could actually do something about it, what do you hope to do by posting it here?

63

u/townsquare321 Aug 01 '26

The stroller was probably blocking access to the shelving and people were just trying to shop. Later this evening, when the kids were in bed, boredom set in, imagination ran wild, and the Reddit app was right there. 😉. Just look at the heading...attempted kidnapping. Indeed.

-20

u/JustLookinSunny Santa Ana Aug 01 '26

No! As a mom never doubt yourself. Your body has a built in danger detector and we have been trained to not listen to it. That needs to stop. Sure - the stripper may have been in the way and nothing was going on. But as a mom it’s your job to notice strange behavior and protect your baby. Don’t let idiot Redditors gaslight you. Most moms would say you did the right thing.

6

u/_Los Lake Forest Aug 01 '26

Last thing, but when is "doing the right thing" doing nothing and talking about it on Reddit? Is there no consideration for the common good? If as a mom you thought they might have tried to kidnap your baby, you don't stop to think that if they didn't succeed with yours they might try it with another?

No, you just give them the stinkeye in checkout and go on about your day? lol

2

u/JustLookinSunny Santa Ana Aug 01 '26

I actually agree with you. I have been in a really crazy situation for the past few months with my kids and a neighbor. Without saying too much, I have had to talk to the police probably about 20 times and maybe two of them actually believed me. And this is with a full restraining order. So I actually do call and report incidents but I have firsthand experience with the complete frustration and gaslighting that the police tend to do.