MICHIGAN, USA — A 47-year-old man was charged with kidnapping a 9-year-old from an upstate New York campground this week. He allegedly held her in the cabinet of a camper where he lived. After 3 days of investigations, police did locate the girl and thankfully reunited her with her family.
While that campground was several miles away from West Michigan, Michigan's Department of Natural Resources says it’s important for those in the community to learn from the unfortunate circumstance.
Pat Whalen, Plainwell District Supervisor for Michigan DNR spoke to 13 On Your Side and said, “Obviously, with what happened in that campground, we don't want to happen in our Michigan State Parks.”
While the camping environment is an easy one to let your guard down in, there are still safety precautions the DNR urges campers to take.
"The parks themselves are very safe. But when our visitors do bring their kids to the parks, we want to make sure they're even more safe within the campground," Whalen said.
Whalen shared five tips with 13 On Your Side that parents should consider when taking their young ones camping.
First, Whalen says that parents need to keep track of where kids go throughout the park and recommend that children travel in groups, rather than alone.
"If they want to go out and explore in the parks, again, we're at parks are very safe, but try to do it in groups rather than going out individually," Whalen said.
If the child is old enough to explore the campground on their own Whalen says to, "give those boundaries and where they can and cannot be given a timeframe when we want them back to the campsite."
And if you go to a campground you've never been to before Whalen says this is an important time to familiarize your children with the area, "maybe give them a map so they know where things are and how to get around.”
Lastly, Whalen says kids should know how to contact their parents in case of an emergency. She said to, "make sure your kids know your phone number is the parent. So if we find them that we know how to get ahold of the parent.”
Whalen says the DNR have their own safety measures put into place. Michigan DNR has “controlled campgrounds” meaning—only registered campers are allowed in. There are also park staff available in case of an emergency, but during off-seasons if a staff member isn’t there the DNR advices you to call 911.
“We want people to understand that when they come to the parks. It's a safe location, but we're not watching your kids at all times It's up to the parents,” Whalen said.
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