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Child safety story, all dept should have lock down policies when children go missing

34 replies

trippleshot · 28/07/2007 08:25

Right putting my head above the parapet relaying this story, but I believe it to be true so think it is important to make as many mums as possible aware of this.

A couple of weeks ago a girl of about four who was shopping with her mother in John Lewis on Oxford street went missing. It really was a case of her mum have her back turned at the till for a matter of seconds, and the child disappeared. Security was notified and "locked-down" the store immmediately. After two hours the girl was found in the toilets, her hair had been cut and clothes changed. I think the intend is clear here, and it's terrifying how easy and quickly child's appearance can be changed just enough that it is not immediately recognisable to those who only have a brief description.

I have never heard of anything like this before, and do not wish to be alarmist but honestly it would never have occured to me that the child's appearance would be changed so quickly. Perhaps I am naive. Anyway the happy conclusion of the story is no doubt thanks to the store's quick acting security and its lock down policy. I don't know of other dept stores/supermarkets with similar policies, but it would be good to know which do.

OP posts:

Report

lionheart · 28/07/2007 08:28

Do you have a link to the original report of this trippleshot?

trippleshot · 28/07/2007 08:30

No, I heard the story from a friend of the mum. She has a media profile and therefore need not want to make it public.

OP posts:

IlanaK · 28/07/2007 08:31

Sorry, but I Have come across this story before. It is one of those urban myths.

FluffyMummy123 · 28/07/2007 08:32

Message withdrawn

FluffyMummy123 · 28/07/2007 08:34

Message withdrawn

ruddynorah · 28/07/2007 08:35

er.. i work in a huge m&s. if we 'locked down' the store every time a child went missing we would be shut at least once a day every day, more so on a saturday. it would probably be easier not to open at all on a saturday. and most customers would be pretty pissed off at being locked in a store for two hours.

FluffyMummy123 · 28/07/2007 08:35

Message withdrawn

NorksDrift · 28/07/2007 08:36

This story (or versions of it) has been around for ages

NorksDrift · 28/07/2007 08:37

Why am I so slow at typing?

trippleshot · 28/07/2007 08:37

Told you I was putting my head above the parapet! Much happier it's fiction than fact.

OP posts:

FluffyMummy123 · 28/07/2007 08:37

Message withdrawn

PeachesMcLean · 28/07/2007 08:37

I wouldn't go quite as far as saying you need to re-evaluate your friendships... I'm sure she wasn't intentionally scaremongering.

The real point, surely is;
"Anyway the happy conclusion of the story is no doubt thanks to the store's quick acting security and its lock down policy. I don't know of other dept stores/supermarkets with similar policies, but it would be good to know which do."

Don't all stores these days join up to a Safe Child scheme? And what exactly does Lock down mean?

FluffyMummy123 · 28/07/2007 08:40

Message withdrawn

PeachesMcLean · 28/07/2007 08:44

Why ?

(what point have I missed this time?)

WideWebWitch · 28/07/2007 09:12

This is apocryphal

WideWebWitch · 28/07/2007 09:13

Sorry, am repeating others, had only read OP

Charlottesweb · 28/07/2007 09:14

Heard this numerous times. Although it's always a local store..... any of them

cornsilk · 28/07/2007 09:28

Have been told this story many times, always about a different store/supermarket. This and the one about the man sat in the car when someone comes back from shopping who turns out to have a knife. Very common.

lionheart · 28/07/2007 14:01

I did wonder, trippleshot, because I thought I'd heard it before.

Actually, it was also used as the plot of one of those US crime dramas which I never watch.

MrsScavo · 28/07/2007 14:33

I heard this happened at Blue Water. Has anyone ever been in a shop when it has been "locked-down"? Surly it would be very dangerous should a fire occure.

Budababe · 28/07/2007 14:43

I have heard of this happening in a Tesco in Budapest, a Dunnes Stores in Ennis in Ireland, and now this one.

Oh and Peter Jones in Sloane Square!

FluffyMummy123 · 28/07/2007 14:43

Message withdrawn

Budababe · 28/07/2007 14:47

Isn't it amazing though how this myth has travelled around the world? Bizarre.

itwasntme · 28/07/2007 14:48

In the last two years it has happened in at least three different shopping centres in Barcelona too.

Bloody widespread problem.

clayre · 28/07/2007 14:50

a boy in my dd nursery class walked away from his parents in a retail park (not very big) and when they told the shop he was missing they locked all the shops in the area till he was found, he'd just wandered away cos he saw he was bored and was found in a toy shop a few doors down

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