My little nephew, Jay, who is nine has gone missing.
It's okay. They have found him and he is fine, just a little shaken up.
I work in Asda. It's a British supermarket chain owned by Wal Mart. Tonight, at about seven, my sister in law came into the store, in a panic. She was out with my two young nephews, Jay (nine) and Zac (seven). She was at the retail park wich is about five minutes along the road from the mall were I work. The boys had been acting up and she told them off and the oldest one went into a mood and ran off. She lost him in the crowd and she spent the next twenty minutes trying to find him; before deciding to come along to Asda, to see if he had turned up here, trying to find me. He hadn't. She had the youngest boy by the hand and was, obviously, not letting him go.
I told her not to panic and I was about to contact the mall security, to check the cameras when she ran off.
I was going to go after her but I lost her in the crowds and so decided to contact security, figuring that would do more good than me running around outside in a panic.
They checked all the cameras but couldn't see him. My desription wasn't very much help. as I didn't even know what he was wearing. I could only say he was a small, skinny, blonde haired boy, about four feet tall.
By this time it was about eight o'clock and starting to get dark.
I have my sister in laws (Amanda) number on my mobile, but I had left it at home, so I couldn't even phone her. My brother is in hospital and my Dad and my sister were up visiting him so I couldn't contact them.(you have to switch off your mobile in hospital)
I had to phone home and ask my mum if she had heard from Amanda. She wanted to know why and I was too stressed out to think of an excuse (to stop her worrying) so I told her about Jay and she started panicking and crying.
The area I work is in quite a bad neighbourhood, full of junkies and gangs. All I could think about was the little girl Madeline McGann, who has gone missing.
I asked my mum to phone me at work as soon as she heard anything. I decided to stay there in case Jay did try to make his way there to find me.
I have never been more frightened in my life. I kept imagining all the worst case scenarios. There is a busy main road separating the retail park from the mall. What if he had got scared and tried to cross it and been run over? What if some pervert had got a hold of him? What if a gang of bigger boys had chased him and hurt him?
It wasn't untill quarter to nine, that my dad phoned and told me they had found him. There is a McDonalds between the retail park and the mall and the security guards had spotted him as he was passing by. He was on the way to Asda to find "his uncle John".
I nearly started crying I was so relieved. His mum has him now and she doesn't know whether to hug him or hang him. He is fine but a bit shaken. The rest of us are complete wrecks.
He is in bed now - there is school tomorrow - so I will phone tomorrow morning, before he goes to school, to see how he is and tell him I love him - and that if he ever gives us a fright like that again I will throttle him.
I am still shaking thinking about it.
I don't have kids of my own so the boys get all my love but I never knew I could be so scared for another person. I am just SO happy he is all right.
.......
On a lighter note...
I have been having dizzy spells the last few days and FINALLY got my doctors appointment this morning. It urns out I have an inner ear infection (acute labrynthitus - I think he called it) which is affecting my balance. So I have got a sickline from work. I am a forklift driver, so that is a DEFINITE no go.
He has proscribed tablets for it but when I asked him how long it will take to clear up, he said: "How long is a piece of string? It could take six days, it could take six weeks." Apart from the fact I can't afford to take six weeks off work, this is really quite fun.
I feel like I am drunk. With the added bonus of I won't have any hangovers. It is really quite a pleasant experience. If I close my eyes, I can feel myself swaying slightly. I could get to like a few days like this...
posted
Kids can disappear in a flash; it's amazing there aren't more tragedies. What a relief that Jay turned up okay. Was he anywhere near as scared as you were?
Hope your ear infection clears up quickly. Maybe the dizziness is more pleasant now that you know it's nothing serious! A few days off work is all right...
posted
So glad to hear that he was found and everything is okay WWC. What a scary thing!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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quote:Originally posted by walkwithcrowds: His mum is just relieved he is okay but now the panic has worn off she is VERY pissed off at him.
And rightly so. I would've had my @$$ beat if I'd done that.
quote:He was a little shaken but...
He's lucky he's not ALOT shaken... he's old enough you wouldn't have to worry about "Shaken Baby" Syndrome... (not that I'm advocating abuse of any sort... just saying... )
His Mom's handling it right, and handling it well considering. Enjoy your "Dizzies", WWC!
From: Up a Gumtree | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by walkwithcrowds: Thanks guys.
I phoned his mum this morning. He is confined to his room and his playstation has been taken away...so he is not too happy.
His mum is just relieved he is okay but now the panic has worn off she is VERY pissed off at him.
Well hopefully it scared him enough that he'll know enough never to do that again. But at least everything turned up okay and hopefully everyone learned something.
From: Canada | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Good post. My blood pressure just went up reading it. I felt your panic!!!
Glad everything is ok. I've lost my daughter a few times for about 3 seconds and it's the worst 3 seconds of my life.
From: Tampa | Registered: Mar 2004
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I am glad that everything worked out. To give Jay a little credit, he didn't just run off, but did end up heading towards you. Exactly how long was he missing?
And I hope your ear infection clears up before the six weeks but only until you want to go back to work.
-------------------- Five billion years from now the Sun will go nova and obliterate the Earth. Don't sweat the small stuff!
From: Boston | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
Glad to hear he's all right. I sure hope that taught him not to do it again, at least until his age is in double digits. And even then it can be pretty scary.
posted
Good lord that scared the bejeebus out of me!
I've had that happen years ago when I was in charge of my two youngest cousins. I was in college and they were about 5 & 6. I was never so frightened in my entire life!
Very glad everything turned out okay with Jay.
Don't enjoy your dizzyness TOO much WWC!
-------------------- "Hey Jim! Get Mon out of the Zone!! And...when do we get Condo back?"
From: Paragon City on patrol | Registered: Jul 2003
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posted
I've been sitting about the house for a day and I'm going crazy. I've read a new book (The Da-Da-De-Da-Da Code, by Robert Rankin and I would definately recommend it to anyone who enjoys a laugh). I've watched some TV (The Punisher was on last night - I thought it was okay, a bit off fun) and I've been taking my medicine.
I feel fine, I think I'm better, there is no need for me to sit around here like an invalid. So I decided to go to the shops to get bread and then go for a walk round the park. I live right above a corner shop. I went down four flights of stairs and nearly threw up I was so dizzy.
I hate, HATE, HATE!!!! being ill and I hate feeling weak. I'm by no means an athletic person. I don't play sports or anything but I am fairly active, I live right across from a beautiful public park and I like to go and feed the ducks and have a walk. Basically, I'm someone who can usually take the stairs easily. I'm just not used to feeling like this.
So now I am sitting in front of the computer. I still feel drunk but it's not as much fun. The book I read featured the blues guitarist Robert Johnson quite heavily so I think I'll look up stuff about him.
Thanks for the well wishes. I'm just in the mood for a moan. It's only been two days but I'm a REALLY impatient patient.
Robert Johnson certainly had an interesting life. Made some great blues music along the way, too. There's a set of his complete recordings that I don't think would set you back too far if you were interested. Good stuff.
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His Mom's handling it right, and handling it well considering. Enjoy your "Dizzies", WWC! ![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
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Maybe you just tried to do too much, too soon? 
