Study: Kids their own best defense against abduction

The children most at risk of attempted abduction by strangers are girls ages 10 to 14, many on their way to or from school, and they escape harm mostly through their own fast thinking or fierce resistance, according to a new national analysis.

Probing a crime that is infrequent but strikes fear in the hearts of parents as little else does, analysts from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children found that children who encountered would-be abductors were usually alone, often in the late afternoon or early evening.

It's a chilling thought for working parents and all those who have asked children to hold hands tightly in crowds or to phone as soon as they get home from school.

It calls to mind last year's killing of Somer Thompson, 7, snatched on her way from school in Florida as she ran ahead of her siblings, and the highly publicized case of Elizabeth Smart, taken from her Utah bedroom at age 14.

More than 4,200 cases of attempted abductions were examined, and it shows that children were their own best protectors.

"They escaped these things not through the efforts of good Samaritans, but through recognizing a bad situation and either getting away from it, avoiding it or screaming and kicking to draw attention," said Ernie Allen, president of the missing children's center.

In 16 percent of the cases, an adult stepped in to help.

"The goal here is not to frighten, but to encourage parents to sit down with their kids, talk to them about their safety, and practice these things," Allen said. - The Washington Post