Wednesday, September 04, 2013

A nightmare

As it was a lovely sunny afternoon yesterday we decided we'd take a ride to Mumbles on the land train. (Daughter and children are still with us this week as Son-in-law is away at a conference.) We wandered down to Blackpill and waited - but no train arrived. A load of police cars turned up though.

It turned out a 5-year-old girl had gone missing from the lido. She'd been gone for about an hour at that time. We hung around for a while waiting to see if the train would arrive but I don't think our hearts were in it. I clutched GrandDaughter closely to me as I murmured prayers for her safety.

At last just as we were about to leave we saw one policeman making a thumbs-up signal to another and, yes, the girl had been found. She'd been taken to a police station by a couple who'd found her somewhere.

I can't imagine how her parents felt during the waiting or when they heard she was safe but I was close to tears. 

It was such a beautiful afternoon and the lido was quite busy with parents, grandparents and children who were enjoying their very last day of the summer holidays. It was the sort of fun atmosphere that you wouldn't want to believe could be infiltrated by a wrong-doer; and it was the sort of scene you could imagine being in a crime novel about abduction.

Thank God it didn't turn out that way.

8 comments:

Furtheron said...

I remember a couple of moments, seconds really where we "lost" ours when little. One was in a big shoe shop with my son when he was a 18 month toddler. I thought he was with my wife she thought he was with me that awful world dropping slowly out of your body moment until there he was just slowly taking all the shoes off the bottom rack just in the next row to where I'd been...

The other one was my daughter about the same age playing a game of hide and seek, only we didn't know. In a small and very packed baby clothing shop my wife realised she'd gone and shot outside screaming her name again in the panic and anguish of her not being there (she was on her own with her I think, I wasn't there) but then a lady came out the shop and said "I think she's hiding behind some coats"... she was giggling away and couldn't understand my wife screaming at her to not do that which of course was just her relief and anger at herself for that split second of lapse in concentration. How people cope when one is truly lost I'll never know those seconds were devastating how could you cope in minutes, hours, days I'll never know.

Rose said...

So glad the little girl was found safe! I can totally understand your hugging your granddaughter closely after hearing this.

I had several similar experiences as Furtheron when my children were younger, and each time it ended happily...usually with my children not understanding what all the fuss was about. The feeling of panic for those few minutes--I agree I don't know how one would cope with anything worse.

Katney said...

Mine was a teenager with a dreadful sense of direction. Would you believe that on his own he would turn left even though ten thousand times together we had turned right? Twice in one year he got lost in a large city. We could have easily lost him in Siberia--literally. I think can be no less panic to lose a teen than a five year old.

Ole Phat Stu said...

What is a land train?

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

Happy ending to the story , which is great news :-)

I am nervous when shopping with my grandchildren , the boys seem to stay close ,whilst the girls move away especially second youngest , and where is she in in the clothes , I told her next time she does it , she will either not come with me or wear one those wrist straps ,, arghh

Welshcakes Limoncello said...

Oh, thank goodness she was found.

Unknown said...

I'm so glad the little girl was found safe and well. What a dreadful experience for the parents, poor things.

Liz Hinds said...

Thanks all.

It can happen so easily, furtheron and rose, and, realistically you know they're probably close at hand but that doesn't stop the terror.

Daughter is like that, katney. Still.

Runs on land rather than tracks i suppose, stu.

The wrist straps are like the old reins i suppose, anne.

Absolutely, welshcakes.

It's how quickly it can happen that is so scary, robyn.