Local mothers worried after incident with strangers in Delano Park

Oct. 26—Two local mothers claim three men approached their children in Delano Park and at least one of the men touched the children, though Decatur police said they found no evidence of criminal activity and don't believe the men were trying to kidnap the children.

After a birthday party at Delano on Saturday, mothers Danika Nangle and Kristie Arnett were both working on getting all of their children home. Nangle was at the park's parking lot loading her youngest child into her vehicle, and Arnett had left the park and was driving her daughter to get ready for a Halloween party.

While they were occupied, Nangle's 3-year-old daughter and Arnett's 4-year-old son were playing at a pavilion under the supervision of Arnett's mother-in-law and sister-in-law. The mother-in-law declined to comment Tuesday and The Daily was unable to reach the sister-in-law.

Nangle said she had seen the three men walking around the park, but she "didn't think anything of them" at first.

That changed.

"(Arnett's mother-in-law) started screaming 'stranger danger,' and three guys were running off in the opposite direction," Nangle said.

Nangle said she heard the yelling and raced back to the pavilion.

She said the women who were supervising the children told her one of the men had taken the 4-year-old's hand and tried to lead him away before the boy pulled his hand back and ran away yelling "no."

Nangle said that, according to the women who were watching the children, another of the men leaned down to pick up the 3-year-old and had his arm around her in an apparent attempt to lift her before the adults watching the kids verbally intervened.

Nangle said the mother-in-law and sister-in-law were yelling at the three men and Nangle watched them run deeper into the park. She then called the police non-emergency line.

Arnett arrived back at Delano Park before the police arrived and she said her son was panicking, claiming one of the men told him, "Mommy's gone."

"That's what panicked me," she said.

Nangle said an officer arrived about 10 minutes after she called the police.

The officer went to speak with the three men, who were still in the park after police were called, and she said another officer told her the men spoke limited English.

She said an officer told her the five or six patrol cars had to wait for an interpreter to arrive before they could question the men.

Nangle said the officer told her the three men had indeed spoken to and touched the children, but they were not trying to kidnap the children.

Decatur police declined to comment on the specifics of their contact with the three men.

Arnett said a police officer contacted her soon after the incident to tell her they would not be charging any of the men with attempted kidnapping, as there was not enough evidence. She said the officer also claimed the incident could be explained by cultural differences, as all three men were Hispanic.

"After speaking to those involved, no criminal activity was discovered," Decatur Police Department spokeswoman Irene Cardenas-Martinez said Tuesday. "Get in touch with us if you feel someone's in danger. Contact the police and make a report if necessary."

Although the police say they concluded the men were not attempting to kidnap the children, the incident rattled the two mothers.

While still at Delano and after calling the police, Nangle made a Facebook post aimed at alerting other parents to the threat. Her post included a photo of the men she thought were trying to take her children.

The post was shared at least 1,800 times on a Decatur-themed Facebook page.

The Decatur Police Department responded to the Facebook post and the numerous online comments expressing concern with its own post:

"The Decatur Police Department is aware of a post that was circulating on social media involving a possible attempted kidnapping at a local park in the City of Decatur over the weekend. According to posts, three Hispanic males attempted to walk away with two juveniles unknown to them.

"Multiple officers with the Decatur Police Department's Patrol Division responded to the call and spoke with the witnesses as well as the Hispanic males, who stayed at the park and awaited law enforcement to arrive.

"After everyone had been interviewed, there is no factual basis to say that any criminal activity had occurred."

Nangle said she deleted her post after she began receiving messages; some thanked her for sharing her fear, some accused her of making a fake report, and some said she should be jailed.

"I've been called everything from a racist to a Karen, to people saying my kids need to be taken away and I need to go to jail," she said. "Really? I don't know what their intentions are. It doesn't matter, you're a stranger touching my child.

"I didn't make a false report. They did talk to and touch our children."

She said other women have since reached out to her and claimed they have experienced similar incidents in Decatur, and some people commented on the Decatur police Facebook post with similar stories.

"If (the men) are innocent, that's great, but as a mom I'd rather be safe than sorry," Nangle said. "When I have an older lady screaming, 'They tried to take your kid,' I don't think she would try to lie about that."

Arnett said she has questions that bother her.

"If they didn't intend on taking the kids, what were they thinking going up to kids in a park and picking them up?" she said. "What made it OK for them to go touch my children? How did he know 'mommy was gone?' Why did he say that to my kid?"

— emma.daniel@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2437. Twitter @DD_EDaniel