Urbandale Police: Every Report of an Attempted Abduction Treated as Serious

Few things are a higher priority for the Urbandale Police Department than a report of a missing child, or an attempted abduction.

"Any attempted child abduction is a priority trip," said Officer Randy Peterson, community liasion for the . "We want the parents or caretakers to call us immediately so we can get our resources, our officers, in the area right away to try to find the suspect."

This summer the news has seemed full of incidents of abductions, attempted abductions and missing kids. As recently as last week, a Clive mom on a walk with her toddler told police a man reached out from an open garage, grabbed the child by the arm, only to run off when the woman intervened, according to the Des Moines Register.

In July,  from a lake not far from their homes in Evansdale, their bikes left in the grass at a town park. Two months later, there's still no sign of the cousins, whom authorities said were likely abducted.

And closer to home, just a few weeks ago, a man emerged from a van to try and  while she waited at the Waukee schools' bus stop. He was unsuccessful.

And on Sept. 5, central Iowans will quietly remember one of the most high-profile missing child cases in our state's history -- 30 years have passed since Johnny Gosch disappeared while delivering newspapers near his West Des Moines home. 

The Johnny Gosch case "changed law enforcement, as to how we respond to a missing persons report," Peterson said. "It still affects everyone, it's a huge unknown, whatever happened to him."

Urbandale Police Say Time is Crucial

Urbandale mother Nichole McDowell says her focus is to teach her children -- a 6-year-old son and a 2 1/2-year-old daughter -- to be cautious, not scared.  

"We talk about good stranger/bad stranger multiple times throughout the year, usually reiterating it again whenever there is a reported abduction attempt. It’s hard because at 2 ½, there isn’t much that we can tell my daughter that she would understand," she said. "For my son … the first thing I tell him (over and over and over again) is that he can tell me anything and I will always, always believe him. I want him to know that if he ever comes to me and tells me that someone is touching/hurting/scaring him, that I will never doubt him."

There have been a couple of false reports in central Iowa this year from kids who weren't contacted by strangers, Peterson said, which might be kids seeking attention. But parents know their children, and should trust what their gut tells them.

"Never wait and call a couple hours, it doesn't do us much good," he said, because shady characters will be long gone. If someone reports a stranger approached a child, investigators will go talk to the child right away to sort out the incident and keep the community calm.

"We have to treat every report as serious," Peterson said. "We can't afford not to."

What to Tell Your Kids

Police, parents, teachers and other adults often talk to kids about stranger danger. Peterson suggests parents ask their child to explain what good and bad stranger looks like to help discuss different scenarios.

Tell your kids that if someone grabs them to hit, scratch and do whatever they have to do to get free, Peterson said. Signs of a struggle -- a bite mark, scratches, a bruise -- can help officers identify a suspect and even get DNA for evidence.

McDowell said her son once asked her why someone would try to take him. 

Her response? "I’ve always made comments about how people just like to take kids to be part of their family. I don’t get into the crazies of the world with him," she said.

"And one time, my son asked me what happens if he can’t get away from the person trying to snatch him. I told him I will always find him. Because sometimes at the age of 6, you just need reassurance that your momma will always save the day."

The vast majority of missing persons cases are teenagers who have problems with mom and dad's rules, or are mixed up with the wrong crowd. Peterson said the youths usually come back within a week.

Another frequent source of missing persons cases are parents who call police when their kids are a couple hours late -- and usually the kids are home before police have a report done.

"Know your child's friends, know their phone numbers, know their parents' phone numbers," Peterson advises parents in case they ever need to file a report. All of those details are entered by police into a  national database -- one of the legacies of Noreen Gosch, mother of still-missing papery Johnny Gosch.

"That helps bring them home," Peterson said.

The department has several programs aimed at teaching safety to kids -- from DARE in the upper elementary years to Safety City for students about to enter kindergarten.

It also offers RADkids, which teaches children between the ages of 5 and 12 self-defense and personal safety.

McDowell's son took the course and she plans to have him take it again.

"It was more than just stranger danger, which is so very important. The class involved good stranger/bad stranger, basic self-defense moves geared toward kids, what to do if you get attacked by a dog, etc.," she said. "The best/worst part for both my son and I was the simulation. Even in a controlled environment, seeing your kid get grabbed by a bad guy just sets you on edge (that’s obviously the worst part — seeing your nightmare enacted before your very eyes). Seeing my kid’s reaction to it was amazing. It was eye-opening, empowering, and scary all at the same time."