Child Safety Reminders From Angels Camp Police Department

Angels Camp, CA — Given the tragic death of seven year old Somer Thompson of Clay County, Florida this week, Police Chief Dale Mendenhall has several reminders for parents and guardians of small children.

Mendelhall comments, "Especially with small children they should never be alone. They should always let the family know where they are going, who they’re going to be with so they could be located quickly. The biggest thing is that parents should always know where their kids are at all times. The children should be instructed not to walk away from the sight of their parents unless they (the parents) know where they are going.

Also children should never walk anywhere alone. They should always walk with a group. There is safety in numbers. If someone was to attempt to abduct a child if there is a group of them screaming and yelling, that would draw attention and nobody wants to draw attention to their actions in that type of situation. It’s always better for the children to have someone with them. The more people they have with them the better off their chances are of dissuading someone from doing something like that or being able to report quickly to authorities if something like that (an abduction) does happen."  

Written by bill.johnson@mlode.com