Police shed light on kidnappings hoax
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KCTV) — Kansas City police say they have been made aware of posts in Northland Facebook groups claiming there have been a series of attempted kidnappings from big box stores.
In a Facebook post, the police department says most of the claims happened along the Missouri Highway 152 corridor in Kansas City and Liberty.
“We have no evidence that this is true. We have checked with Liberty, Missouri Police Department and the Clay County, Missouri Sheriff, as well, and none of us have had any such reports,” Kansas City police say.
KCPD says they took one call from a woman whose child had run off in a “large store” two days ago. The child ran into a man who asked where their parent was so he could take the child back to the parent. The child’s older sibling found them first and returned them to the parent. No attempted abduction occurred, police said.
“Rest assured, if there is a known danger to area children, we will make every effort to ensure you are informed of it. Stranger kidnappings of children, particularly in the presence of parents or guardians, are incredibly rare. KCPD has not taken such a report in more than a decade,” police said.
Police do advise parents to keep a close eye on their children’s social media use.
“We find that is where kids are most likely to meet and form relationships with adults who may mean them harm,” police said.
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