A Kansas mother said a woman tried to kidnap her 9-week-old baby as she shopped at Target store in the Kansas City area.
Youngs said an unknown woman with a dog approached her in the baby section. The woman seemed friendly at first, Youngs recounted and told her she thought her 9-week-old baby was adorable.
“I made a comment on how cute her dog was, and she went around to the front of my cart and made a comment about how cute my baby is,” Youngs said. “She made a comment saying, ‘Yeah, I’ll trade you my dog for your baby,' and I thought she was just joking,” Youngs said.
Youngs said that during the conversation, the woman told her she had considerable experience as a babysitter. She also told her she was a professional dog groomer.
“Just was super, super nice and she went to the front of my cart and asked me if she could hold my daughter,” said Youngs. “And she starts taking her out of the car seat, and she hands me her dog.”
The mother said she agreed to let the stranger hold her baby.
“As she’s holding my baby she started saying weird things. She started asking me, ‘Do you have a godmother?’ I said no, and she said, ‘I’d love to be your godmother, I‘ll split everything 50/50.’ And I was like this is kind of weird, like, who says this to a random person?” Youngs told WDAF reporters.
Youngs said she became more alarmed as she continued to talk with the woman.
“And she said, ‘Just so you know, I was arrested for attempted kidnapping,’” said Youngs, “That’s when I was like, ‘OK, you know what? There’s something wrong.’ All of a sudden, this woman starts walking off with my daughter, and I yelled at her. I said, ‘I need my baby back!’”
She said the woman gave back the baby, but only after hesitating for a moment.
Shawnee police were called to the scene. They reportedly told Youngs that they were limited in what they could do because she voluntarily handed the woman her baby.
“They just said, ‘Well, there’s nothing we can really do because you technically gave her permission to hold your baby,’ and my exact words were, ‘OK, so me giving her permission to hold my baby for a couple minutes gives her permission to take off with my child?’” Youngs said.
Deputies told reporters that the woman who held Youngs’s baby is known to law enforcement.
Youngs said the disturbing interaction has taught her to be more fearful of strangers.
“Someone could come up to you and just be as nice as possible, and I try to trust people, and so many people do, but you can’t trust anyone,” Youngs said.
She said she wants her experience to be a warning to others to be more vigilant.
Fox61 posted the story of Facebook, sparking a range of user comments.
“First of all, you dont let some random stranger touch or hold your kid,” said commenter Amanda Marie. “The woman could be mother Teresa and I wouldn’t allow her to touch my kid.”
Amy Tirado, another commenter, said “I have had weird creepo people come up and tickle my baby’s feet before and such and I’m like all mama bear over them. I would NEVER let a stranger hold my baby ever unless they were a doctor or nurse or someone who worked with kids who could be held accountable.”
