They never found the body of the little girl, but they were still able to convict the guy based on DNA evidence.
Wish I could remember his name, he was a strange bird, some crab trapper. I couldn't believe the mother would have let him stay in the same house as her kids.
Another story that relates to this: in NJ, they have the "Megan"? law....after a little girl was abducted by people in a van. My cousin's son, then 10 and his friend, 11, were playing at the local park near their house by the Jersey shore. As they were leaving, a man came up to them and tried to get them near the van he was in, but my cousin had drilled into her son's head NEVER NEVER NEVER go near a person or a car who you do not know...so my cousin's son would not go near it and he tried to persuade his friend not to either. His friend, however, did not think there was anything wrong, and so while he was walking towards the van, the man grabbed him and tried to throw him in the back of the van. My cousin's son blew the whistle he had on around his neck, drawing attention from passersby and the man dropped the kid on the pavement and attempted to take off. My cousin had enough smarts to know that in order to catch this guy, he should get a license plate #. He did, gave it to the police and whaddya know? The guy was on on parole for child molestation and attempted murder. Not only did he save his friend's life, and his own, but probably a few more given the fact that this guy will never step outside a jail again.
So, yes, it does work. Teach your kids, scare them if you have to, because once they are gone, there is very little chance you will ever see them again alive.