HOUSTON — A Texas mother's fear nearly came true in the aisle of her local grocery store on Saturday.
Florence Monauer was shopping at the H Mart in Houston Saturday when a man stopped to speak to her 14-month-old child, KHOU reported.
After he left, Monauer went about her business, turning to look at something on the shelf.
Then she heard the shopping cart cover that her child was sitting in move. That's when she saw the man had returned and was trying to pull the baby out of the cart.
"At no point did he talk to me. He never asked me to pick up my baby," Monauer told KHOU. "He said the strangest thing to me, 'I wanted to take you when your mom wasn't looking.'"
She thought about what happened, replaying the incident, for hours.
EDIT: this is in Houston, Texas at the H-Mart on bellaire blvd. I'd hate for them to lose their reputation. They have been very helpful in this ordeal.
Posted by Florence C. Monauer on Sunday, October 16, 2016
I got surveillance. Let me explain my actions first because it appeared I was OK with it. I thought he was just an over-friendly guy and maybe he didn't understand what was appropriate and what wasn't. I didn't want to make a big scene out of it, and I generally don't want to assume that people are up to no good. I'm so angry with myself for letting him hold her for even a second. The more I thought about it, the more wrong it appeared. Please be on the look out for this guy!
But the more she thought about it, the more she felt uneasy about what happened.
She said the man was quiet as he picked up the child. He didn't have a cart or merchandise, KHOU reported.
Hours later, she called police and filed a report on Sunday.
Monauer, who is an attorney said, "For me, the crime of attempting to kidnap someone was completed the moment when he picked up my child with my back turned and without my consent."
Store employees said they do not recognize the man.
Police are investigating.
Cox Media Group
