Woman’s Story of Child Abduction Attempt at Burton Walmart is Terrifying
Living in Flint, which is often cited by authorities as a hotbed for human trafficking activity, we hear about this sort of thing at least a few times a year. Despite the frequency with which we hear reports of these alleged incidents, it never gets any easier to take. That's especially true of this latest reported incident, which sounds like every parent's absolute worst nightmare.
On Monday (December 3rd), a parent and her two daughters were reportedly near the crane machine by the main entrance of the Burton Walmart on Court Street, while her husband was roughly 20 feet away in the bottle return section. It's tough to tell from the post itself, but from the sounds of it, all of what happened next took place in broad daylight.
Editor's Note: All of the names have been redacted from the social media post, but we've replaced the names with colors as listed below.
Blue: Husband | Purple: Daughter #1 | Pink: Daughter #2
That story alone is terrifying enough, but that's not even the scariest part. The father expanded on the story in the comments, saying that they were told this was the third report of such an incident in a week's time.
Usually, incidents like this are tough to confirm, but it's never bad to be reminded of the dangers that are out there. As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, Flint's access to multiple expressways and proximity to the border make us a prime target for human traffickers according to local officials. Whether or not this incident is 100% true, a misunderstanding, or a complete fabrication is irrelevant, it doesn't invalidate the lesson. Keep your little ones close and always be on the lookout... Even in a public place in broad daylight.
We reached out to both Walmart and the Burton Police for comment, but were unable to get a response before the publishing the article. We will update the story with any additional information they provide with their response.