Read this
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silence
17 years agoAfter tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to grab a snack and get on-line. She logged on under her screen name ByAngel213. She
checked her Buddy List and saw GoTo123 was on. She sent him aninstant message:
ByAngel213:
Hi. I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was following me home
today. It was really weird!
GoTo123:
LOL You watch too much TV. Why would someone be following you? Don't you live in a safe neighborhood?
ByAngel213:
Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination cuz' I didn't see anybody when I looked out.
GoTo123:
Unless you gave your name out on-line. You haven't done that have you?
ByAngel213:
Of course not. I'm not stupid you know.
GoTo123:
Did you have a softball game after school today?
ByAngel213:
Yes and we won!!
GoTo123:
That's great! Who did you play?
ByAngel213:
We played the Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are so gross! They look
like bees. LOL.
GoTo123:
What is your team called?
ByAngel213:
We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our uniforms. They are
really cool.
GoTo1 23:
Did you pitch?
ByAngel213:
No I play second base. I got to go. My homework has to be done
before my parents get home. I don't want them mad at me. Bye!
GoTo123:
Catch you later. Bye
Meanwhile.......GoTo123 went to the member menu and began to search for her profile. When it came up, he highlighted it and printed it
out. He took out a pen and began to write down what he knew about
Angel so far.
Her name: Shannon
Birthday: Jan. 3, 1985
Age: 13
State where she lived: North Carolina
Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall. Besides this information, he knew she lived in Canton because she had just
told him. He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m. every afternoon until her parents came home from work. He knew she played
softball on Thursday afternoons on the school team, and the team was named the Canton Cats. Her favorite number 7 was printed on her
jersey. He knew she was in the eighth grade at the Canton Junior High School . She had told him all this in the conversations they
had on-line. He had enough information to find her now.
Shannon didn't tell her parents about the incident on the way home from the ballpark that day. She didn't want them to make a scene and
stop her from walking home from the softball games. Parents were always overreacting and hers were the worst. It made her wish she
was not an only child. Maybe if she had brothers and sisters, her
parents wouldn't be so overprotective.
By Thursday, Shannon had forgotten about thefootsteps following her.
Her game was in full swing when suddenly she felt someone staring at her. It was then that the memory came back. She glanced up from her second base position to see a man watching her closely.
He was leaning against the fence behind first base and he smiled
when she looked at him. He didn't look scary and she quickly dismissed the sudden fear she had felt.
After the game, he sat on a bleacher while she talked to the coach. She noticed his smile once again as she walked past him. He nodded and she smiled back. He noticed her name on the back of her shirt. He knew he had found her.
Quietly, he walked a safe distance behind her. It was only a few blocks to Shannon's home, and once he saw where she lived he
quickly returned to the park to get his car.
Now he had to wait. He decided to get a bite to eat until the time came to go to Shannon's house. He drove to a fast food restaurant
and sat there until the time to make his move.
Shannon was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in
the living room.
"Shannon, come here," her father called. He sounded upset and she
couldn't imagine why. She went into the room to see the man from the
ballpark sitting on the sofa.
"Sit down," her father began, "this man has just told us a most interesting story about you."
Shannon sat back. How could he tell her parents anything? She had
never seen him before today!
"Do you know who I am, Shannon ?" the man asked.
"No," Shannon answered.
"I am a police officer and your online friend, GoTo123."
Shannon was stunned. "That's impossible! GoTo is a kid my age! He's 14. And he lives in Michigan!"
The man smiled. "I know I told you all that, but it wasn't true. You see, Shannon, there are people on-line who pretend to be kids; I was one of them. But while others do it to injure kids and hurt them, I belong to a group of parents who do it to protect kids from
predators. I came here to find you to teach you how dangerous it is
to talk to people on-line. You told me enough about yourself to make
it easy for me to find you. You named the school you went to, the name of your ball team and the position you played. The number and
name on your jersey just made finding you a breeze."
Shannon was stunned. "You mean you don't live in Michigan ?"
He laughed. "No, I live in Raleigh. It made you feel safe to think I was so far away, didn't it?"
She nodded.
"I had a friend whose daughter was like you. Only she wasn't as lucky. The guy found her and murdered her while she was home alone.
Kids are taught not to tell anyone when they are alone, yet they do it all the time on-line. The wrong people trick you into giving out
information a little here and there on-line. Before you know it, you have told them enough for them to find you without even realizing you have done it. I hope you've learned a lesson from this and won't do it again. Tell others about this so they will be safe too?"
"It's a promise!"
That night Shannon and her Dad and Mom all knelt down together and
thanked God for protecting Shannon from what could have been a tragic situation.
*****NOW*****
PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO FORWARD THIS TO PEOPLE WITH OR WITHOUT KIDS, SO THEY CAN SEND IT TO
FRIENDS THAT DO HAVE CHILDREN OR GRANDCHILDREN. -
Darien
17 years agoIt's the younger ones we should look out for, they are the naive ones. Although, some of the mature members are still at risk as well. It all depends on how they can handle themselves. I don't mind putting out information on the internet, I'm wise enough to know the difference, and make judgements for myself.
