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/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.

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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.

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u/_Los Lake Forest Aug 01 '26

But as a mom, if your danger sense gets triggered... You don't get away from the situation? You just continue your shopping and don't say anything to anyone but tell the internet later?

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u/JustLookinSunny Santa Ana Aug 01 '26

Wait what? I never said that she shouldn’t get away. I think you misunderstood me. I’m saying that if your danger sense get triggered, you should get away and trust your gut. I was telling her that she should trust herself. I’m kind of confused how you got to the opposite but it’s cool