There was a recent abduction attempt of a child in our area, by a small man wearing a mask. I discussed it with my child, and pointed out that it could be a local boy in his early teens, because of the height, disguise, no car. She said she wouldn’t be afraid of a teenager - I said she ought to be - they’re stupid, impulsive, and given to panic - they start a crime and kill to hide it. Just a few days ago, two teenaged boys killed a 12 y.o. in South Jersey, and now this.
This suspect in the Colorado killing would have looked like a man to Jessica, but parents, warn your children that predators could be older boys (or girls but much less likely.) Children are inclined to trust children, even look up to the ones a bit older, not fear them, but a fair number of abduction and murders are committed by teenagers.
“Children are inclined to trust children, even look up to the ones a bit older”
I thought about that statement and you are so right. My six year old would trust a teen boy more than even an adult female. Why? Because she has a teen/older brother. Plus, she gets along very well with his friends. Looks like this is going to be discussed during family dinner.
But if the murderer's m.o. in abducting Jessica was the same one he used in his attempted abduction of a woman jogger (see last paragraph of article), then Jessica might never have seen him.
IOW, he might have snuck up from behind and covered her nose and mouth with a "chemical-soaked" rag. Sounds like he might have used chloroform.
It's terribly sad, but I don't think there's much we can do to prevent this sort of crime, short of watching our children constantly ... which, after they reach a certain age, is nearly impossible.