Exactly. My 13 year old daughter isn't even allowed to walk the dog around the block by herself, let alone, get so far away from home unaccompanied, that something like this could happen to her.
I live in a nice area surrounded by gang areas, and there are little tiny middle school kids who have to walk along the big boulevards where all kinds of people might be riding past. The little 11-year-old 6th graders walking home from school alone make me sad. I can’t believe they are so defenseless out there. There is a place 2 miles down one of the boulevards where there are 10 apartment buildings filled with convicted sex offenders. I don’t think a lot of people realize that.
RE: “My 13 year old daughter isn’t even allowed to walk the dog around the block by herself, let alone, get so far away from home unaccompanied, that something like this could happen to her.”
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This is so unfortunate. I’m living in the same neighborhood I grew up in and remember well the carefree days of summer, riding bikes all over (around age 9 - 11) the area, no cell phones, just told to be back before dark. Lovely.
Now I won’t walk UNLESS I have my aggressive dog with me — people have been mugged, homes burglarized and worse. The criminals just drive or walk into neighborhoods they previously had little access to —
I’m glad I’m old — would not want to be a parent of young kids today or be a young kid myself.