SHAWNEE, Kan. — A Kansas woman said a stranger attempted to kidnap her 9-week-old daughter while she shopped at a Target store, WDAF reported.
Rachel Youngs was shopping in the baby section of the Target in Shawnee on Friday when she said a woman approached her, the television station reported.
"I made a comment on how cute her dog was, and she went around to the front of my cart and made a comment about how cute my baby is," Youngs told WDAF. "She made a comment saying, 'Yeah, I'll trade you my dog for your baby,' and I thought she was just joking."
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After some more pleasantries were exchanged, the woman asked to hold the infant. Youngs said she quickly realized that was a mistake, KCTV reported.
"She says, 'Just so you know, I was arrested for attempted kidnapping.' That`s when I was like, 'OK, you know what, there's something wrong,'" Youngs told KCTV. "All of a sudden, she starts walking off with my daughter. I yelled at her, I said, 'I need my baby back, please. Give me my baby back.'"
The woman hesitated before handing back the child. Youngs then asked Target employees to call police, WDAF reported. Officers arrived but told Youngs they could not make an arrest.
"They just said, 'Well, there's nothing we can really do because you technically gave her permission to hold your baby,' and my exact words were, 'OK, so me giving her permission to hold my baby for a couple minutes gives her permission to take off with my child?'" Youngs told the television station.
Youngs says the situation was frightening.
"Someone could come up to you and just be as nice as possible, and I try to trust people, and so many people do, but you can't trust anyone," she told WDAF.