This is really worth reading & pass it
on to everyone!!!!
Shannon could hear the footsteps behind
her as she walked toward home.
The thought of being followed made her
heart beat faster. "you're being
silly, she told herself, "no one is
following you." to be safe, she
bega n to walk faster, but the footsteps
kept up with her pace. She was
afraid to look back and she was glad she
was almost home. Shannon said a
quick prayer, "god please get me home
safe." she saw the porch light burning and
she leaned against the door for a moment,
relieved to be in the safety of her home.
She glanced out the window to see if
anyone was there. The sidewalk was
empty.
After tossing her books on the sofa, she
decided to grab a snack and get on-line .
She logged on under her screen name
byangel213. She checked her buddy list
and saw goto123 was on. She sent him an
instant message:
byangel213:
hi. I'm glad you are on! I thought
someone was following me home today. It
was really weird!
Goto123:
lol you watch too much tv. Why would
someone be following you? Don't you live
in a safe neighborhood?
Byange l 213:
of course I do. Lol I guess it was my
imagination cuz' I didn't see
anybody when I looked out.
Goto123:
unless you gave your name out on-line.
You haven't done that have you?
Byangel213:
of course not. I'm not stupid you know.
Goto123:
did you have a softball game after school
today?
Byangel213:
yes and we won!!
Goto123:
that's great! Who did you play?
Byangel213:
we played the hornets. Lol. Their
uniforms are so gross! They look like
bees. Lol
goto123:
what is your team called?
Byangel213:
we are the canton cats. We have tiger
paws on our uniforms. They are really
cool.
Goto123:
did you pitch?
Byangel213:
no I play second base. I got to go. My
homework has to be done before my par e nt
s get home. I don't want them mad at me.
Bye!
Goto123:
catch you later. Bye
meanwhile......Goto123 went to the member
menu and began to search for her profile.
When it cam! E up, he highlighted it and
printed it out. He took out a pen and
began to write down what he knew about
angel so far.
Her name: shannon
birthday: jan. 3, 1985
age: 13
state where she lived: north carolina
hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and
going to the mall.
Besides this information, he knew she
lived in canton because she had just told
him. He knew she stayed by herself until
6:30 p.M. Every afternoon until her p are
nts came home from work. He knew she
played softball on thursday afternoons on
the school team, and the team was named
the canton cats. Her favorite number 7
was printed on her jersey.
He knew she was in the eighth grade at the
canton junior high school.
She had told him all this in the
conversations they had on- line. He had
enough information to find her now.
Shannon didn't tell her parents about the
incident on the way home from the ballpark
that day. She didn't want them to make a
scene and stop her from walking home from
the softball games. Parents were always
overreacting and hers were the worst. It
made her wish she was not an only child.
Maybe if she had brothers and sisters, her
parents wouldn't be so overprotective.
By thursday, shannon had forgotten about
the footsteps following her.
Her game was in full swing when suddenly
she felt someone staring at her. It was
then that the memory came back. She
glanced up from her second base position
to see a man watching her closely.
He was leaning against the fence behind
first base and he smiled when she looked
at him. He didn't look scary and she
quickly dismissed the sudden fear she had
felt.
After the game, he sat on a bleacher whi
le s he t alked to the coach. She noticed
his smile once again as she walked past
him. He nodded and she smiled back. He
noticed her name on the back of her shirt.
He knew he had found her.
Quietly, he walked a safe distance behind
her. It was only a few blocks to
shannon's home, and once he saw where she
lived he quickly returned to the park to
get his car.
Now he had to wait. He decided to get a
bite to eat until the time came to go to
shannon's house. He drove to a fast food
restaurant and sat there until time to
make his move.
Shannon was in her room later that evening
when she heard voices in the living
room.
"shannon, come here," her father called.
He so unded upse t and she
couldn't imagine why. She went into the
room to see the man from the ballpark
sitting on the sofa.
"sit down," her father began, "this man
has just told us a most
interesting story about you."
shannon sat back. How could he tell her
parents anything? She had
never seen him before today!
"do you know who I am, shannon?" the man
asked.
"no," shannon answered.
"i am a police officer and your online
friend, goto123."
shannon was stunned. "that's impossible!
Goto is a kid my age! He's 14. And he
lives in michigan!"
the man smiled. "i know I told you all
that, but it wasn't true. You
see, shannon, there are people on-line who
pretend to be kids; I was one of them.
But while others do it to injure kids and
hurt them, I belong to a group of parents
who do it to protect kids from predators.
I came here to find you to teach you how
dangerous it is to talk to people on-line.
You told me enough about yourself to make
it easy for me to find you. You name the
school you went to, the name of your ball
team and the position you played. The
number and name on your jersey just made
finding you a breeze."
shannon was stunned. "you mean you d on't
l ive in michigan?"
he laughed. "no, I live in raleigh. It
made you feel safe to think i
was so far away, didn't it?"
she nodded.
"i had a friend whose daughter was like
you. Only she wasn't as lucky.
The guy found her and murdered her while
she was home alone. Kids are taug ht not
to tell anyone when they are alone, yet
they do it all the time on-line. The
wrong people trick you into giving out
information a little here and there
on-line. Before you know it, you have
told them enough for them to find you
without even realizing you have done it.
I hope you've learned a lesson from this
and won't do it again. Tell others about
this so they will be safe too?"
"it's a promise!"
that night shannon and her dad and mom all
knelt down together and thanked god for
protecting shannon from what could have
been a tragic situation.
*****now*****
please send this to as many people as you
can to teach them not to give any
information about them selves. This world
we live in today is too dangerous to even
give out your age, let alone anything
else.
Even forward this to people without kids
so they can send it to friends
that do have children or grandchildren
