Society's Child

Video shows 11-year-old girl escaping attempted kidnapping while waiting for school bus in Pensacola

Asha C. GilbertAnnie Blanks
USA TODAY
Wed, 19 May 2021 21:40 UTC

An 11-year-old-girl who escaped an attempted abduction is being called a hero after video footage was released showing how she defended herself against a stranger attempting to carry her to his vehicle.

Surveillance video shows the girl sitting at a bus stop in Pensacola on Tuesday morning when a white Dodge Journey drove by and returned about a minute later. A man is then seen exiting the vehicle and running toward the girl.

The girl immediately tried to grab her things and run, but the man - later identified as Jared Paul Stanga - grabbed the girl.

A struggle ensued between the two when Stanga fell on top of the girl before he eventually let her go and ran back to his vehicle. The girl quickly grabbed her things and ran out of frame while Stanga drove away in the same direction.

The girl reportedly was able to run home and notify her parents of the incident. Her parents then called law enforcement.

Stanga was arrested later in the day after Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons asked for the public's help in identifying the man seen on video.

Simmons said the 11-year-old girl was playing with blue slime when the attempted kidnapping took place. The suspect was seen in surveillance videos at convenience stores and other areas in town Tuesday with blue slime on his arms.

The girl and her mother are "working through this," Simmons said, adding that the young girl is his "hero" for fighting as hard as she did.

Stanga has been charged with attempted kidnapping of a child under age 13, aggravated assault and aggravated battery, according to a social media post by the sheriff's office.

Simmons said at a Tuesday evening press conference that Stanga has a history of sexual offenses against children.

"I cannot help to think that this could have ended very different had this 11-year-old victim not thought to fight, and to fight, and to just never give up. This could have ended terribly," Simmons said. "Why else do you think that this man stopped his van and tried to pick her up and take her into that van? It doesn't take a genius to figure out what his intentions were. They were not good."

Reader Comments

Rowan Cocoan · 2021-05-19T22:08:27Z

Good on the girl! It's hard to do more than she did and that was enough. (I wish she had done what an unwilling cat will do which is twist, bite and claw out eyes. Then again, there wasn't even that much time.)

Give me a rifle, damn it!

(Gotta point out typical BFM overdramatization. What she did is NOT being a hero; it's just surviving. I survived cancer ~5? recurrences and to this day when folks call Cx survivors 'heroes' it pisses me off. A 'hero' would be the guy with a rifle.)

RC

Giant Meteor 24 · 2021-05-19T22:48:17Z

Rowan Cocoan wait! You don't have a rifle? What the hell's wrong with you??

Animanarchy · 2021-05-20T07:59:10Z

Rowan Cocoan As soon as someone gets a cancer diagnosis they're also automatically "brave".

Good Optics · 2021-05-19T22:28:20Z

A similar thing nearly happened to our older daughter in her school parking lot . Mom always told them, "Trust your feeling and if it isn't right; RUN!" which she did. It turned out there was couple cruising school yards around town abducting kids.

adipocere · 2021-05-20T10:17:22Z

Good Optics HOLY CRAP. That is really scary. I'm glad to hear your daughter ran.

I myself was almost kidnapped from my front yard when I was 4 or 5. A man was cruising my neighborhood and tried every trick he could to lure me into his car. I ran inside and got my mom.

Joyly · 2021-05-19T22:37:29Z

It is a sad world when parents must teach their children to be wary and run if necessary.

ReRan · 2021-05-19T23:12:53Z

When my kids were young, we taught them to kick, bite and scream. And how to break fingers. And then they took self defence classes as well. Never needed any of it, but even today, such training would be helpful in some situations.

weeman666 · 2021-05-19T23:36:19Z

Although important!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rowan Cocoan · 2021-05-19T23:47:14Z

I've written this up before. It really works. When you're running from someone and they're about 10 feet behind you and are about to catch up to you/tackle you, do a hyperquick 'slide into second base' stopping slide. Bend your neck down, their shins will hit your shoulder (very lightly) and they go flying - break a wrist or such. While they're flying through the air, you take off back in the opposite direction.

(I've done this at least two times, I'd guess three or four times. The shocking thing is it has worked EVERY TIME! The last time I did it I was an adult.)

Teach it to folks!

RC

ReRan · 2021-05-19T23:48:40Z

Rowan Cocoan Thanks for that!

Rowan Cocoan · 2021-05-19T23:53:20Z

ReRan I found myself wondering why it's been so damn long since I've had to do such. Then I remembered: I've been walking around well armed (concealed firearm) for getting on thirty years.

RC

Joyly · 2021-05-20T04:46:59Z

Rowan Cocoan That sounds like thinking on your feet. I recall doing a couple of years of judo, of my own volition; not my parents. I guess you would have to learn baseball to slide into second base.

Lemuel Gulliver · 2021-05-20T04:23:03Z

Sometimes I lament our constitutional ban on "cruel and unusual" punishment. This pig-face needs to have his testicles removed - without anesthetic. It's been proven that is the only thing that will make these monsters stop.

Good Optics · 2021-05-20T04:39:25Z

Lemuel Gulliver

Sometimes I lament our constitutional ban on "cruel and unusual" punishment. This pig-face needs to have his testicles removed - without anesthetic. It's been proven that is the only thing that will make these monsters stop.

We don't deal well with our monsters. The only exception I'm aware of is Eskimos pushing the psychopaths in their midst off the ice. There must be others who developed the societal common sense to act decisively to the groups benefit.

We don't seem to have done that . . .

Instead, we stand by while the wayward and wanton run amok . . .

Rowan Cocoan · 2021-05-20T04:53:52Z

Good Optics There's an electrical discussion you might (or might not) appreciate at:

SOTT Focus:Objective:Health - Dropping Covid Vaccination Rates

Many mainstream media outlets have been reporting on the dropping vaccination rates across the US, with unused vaccines piling up across the country. They, of course, blame Republicans, and...

Joyly · 2021-05-20T04:54:06Z

Good Optics Off topic - can you please repeat the two things that you used to get rid of blood clots?

Rowan Cocoan · 2021-05-20T04:57:15Z

Joyly I know you're asking G.O., but I've had doctors compliment me for giving heart attack / stroke victims

two crushed aspirin, fish oil, (and I'd guess maybe also Vitamin E? I imagine there are others too like minerals, etc.)

RC

Joyly · 2021-05-20T05:08:09Z

Rowan Cocoan GO might have said Vit E And something else I had not heard of. I saved it but having trouble finding it. He used them personally to get rid of a blood clot. Thanks anyway. RC.

Good Optics · 2021-05-20T15:14:27Z

Joyly

Off topic - can you please repeat the two things that you used to get rid of blood clots?

Wikipedia Nattokinase [Link] and cayenne pepper [Link] which isn't helpful for us so here's a Google for "Cayenne pepper blood circulation" [Link] noting that half a teaspoon in water will stop the bleeding from a cut that's going to need stitches in under a minute, I've experienced this little known effect.

Good Optics · 2021-05-20T15:40:09Z

Good Optics The abstract from the PDF available at this [Link]

Abstract: Cayenne pepper (also called Capsicum frutescence) is a stimulating herb made from the dried pods of chili peppers and is well known for its pungent taste and smell. Cayenne is a popular spice used in many different regional styles of cooking, but it has also been used medicinally for thousands of years. Cayenne is often referred to as chili, which is the Aztec name for cayenne pepper. The main medicinal properties of cayenne are derived from a chemical called capsaicin. Capsaicin is the ingredient which gives peppers their HEAT. A pepper's capsaicin content ranges from 0-1.5%. Peppers are measured according to heat units. The degree of heat determines the peppers' usage and value. Generally, the hotter the pepper, the more capsaicin it contains. In addition to adding heat to the pepper, capsaicin acts to reduce platelet stickiness and relieve pain. Other constituents of cayenne are vitamins E, vitamin C and carotenoids. Today cayenne is used worldwide to treat a variety of health conditions, including poor Circulation, weak digestion, heart disease, chronic pain, sore throats, headache sand toothache Cayenne is the greatest herbal aid to circulation and can be used on a regular basis. Dr. Richard Schulze, the medical herbalist, says that "If you master only one herb in your life, master Cayenne pepper. It is more powerful than any other."

Joyly · 2021-05-20T16:08:35Z

Good Optics Thanks very much. A few years ago I had a bumper crop of red chillies and my polish friend dried them and powdered them. It tasted sooo different from the bought stuff. I will do it again.

adipocere · 2021-05-20T10:21:55Z

If you read other reports, there is something off about this story. #1 they reported the man as being Hispanic and Spanish speaking and this guy doesn't seem to be Hispanic. The second thing is that the police arrested him at home eight hours after the attempt and the police said he painted his car recently to avoid detection.

Who paints their car in eight hours? How is that even possible unless you own a body shop? I wonder if the police arrested some random local pervert.

ROEL ·

Fry Jared!

· 2021-05-20T16:13:10Z

This is where the Terminator starts...

Giant Meteor 24

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Giant Meteor 24

So much winning! Please make it stop, Mr. President [Link]

SADIWAH

LETS TAX THE RICH right? [Link]

SADIWAH

The suggestion that Russia and China may have retrieved downed UAPs and are surveilling the US's research wasn't the only mention of a foreign...

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Society's Child

Video shows 11-year-old girl escaping attempted kidnapping while waiting for school bus in Pensacola

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