Cops say the young girl did the right thing.
Surveillance video shows a 7-year-old Utah girl running away from apparent "stranger danger" when she was approached by a man in her front yard who offered her a bike.
Emmy McCardell was sunbathing outside her Salt Lake City home recently when a car pulled up.
The driver offered a friendly greeting and asked the girl if she wanted a bike.
Instead of going toward the vehicle, Emmy yelled, "No!" and ran in the opposite direction, toward her front door.
Emmy's mom, Michelle, knew something was wrong the second her daughter came in.
“I believe he was looking for a child to take,” Michelle told Inside Edition. “She came running in and said, 'Hey there's a tricky guy who tried to get me.'"
Michelle says she taught her two kids from an early age about stranger danger.
“Never go with a tricky person because they try to take you to a bad place,” the girl said.
Michelle says she is “very proud,” adding that her daughter “went with her gut" when she ran away.
Emmy’s mother hopes other kids will see the video and learn from it.
Salt Lake City Police are now asking for the public’s help in tracking down the driver of the late-model green Ford Taurus.
Cops told Inside Edition the situation was indeed “suspicious” adding that since the man stopped in front of the girl’s home and spoke to Emmy is “not typical that an adult would converse with a young child like that.”
Police said Emmy did the right thing by saying no and running into the house.
Police say kids should also make a lot of noise if they believe they’re in danger.
RELATED STORIES
