I I don't This is all our property, so Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Um so would you recognize these two if you saw them again? If we were to give a do a photo lineup, would you recognize them again? Yeah. Okay. And um willing to go forward with prosecution? Yes. Okay. Please, you reporting an emergency? Um I suppose so. Yeah. What are you reporting? Um my I was just at the Michaels here in Paluma and a couple tried to kidnap my children. Tell me exactly what happened. Um we pulled into Michaels. We're getting out of the car and a couple was parked in front of us. They followed us into the store, followed us throughout the store. Um followed us through checkout. We're on the phone right behind us. I heard them making comments about my children's hair color and eyes and I thought it was just an light. Uh I walk out to my car. There's a large white van with easy access. There were two people who did this. There were two people who did this. Yes, it was a couple, but then there was a third person that was in the white van. I How long ago did this happen? And where are you right now? How long ago? Um like Yeah. How long ago did How long ago did this happen and where are you right now? Oh, I'm sorry. It happened 15 minutes ago and now I am on um Washington East Washington. Where are you? I need to have an officer contact you. So, where are you going to be for an officer make contact? I'm going to be at my home at Okay. I'm not able to send an officer to Soma to meet with you. Can you um pull over someplace here or come to the police station? Can we have an officer speak with you? I can come to the police station. Um I do have my children with me though. So, and they're very young and one has special needs. So, it's kind of hard to come. That's okay. Let me get some information from you. Um, do you first of all, do you know where the police station is located? Uh, yes, I do actually know where it is. Okay, very good. Let me get your name and phone number. Okay, my name is Katie Sorenson. How do you spell your last name? S O R E N S E N. And what kind of vehicle are you driving? I'm driving a white GMT. And what is your telephone number, Katie? Okay. So, let's go back to what happened at Michael's while you're driving. So, they followed you around the store, were making comments about your children's appearance, and then what happened? And then when we were walking out to the car, I could hear them close behind me and I thought that was odd because they shouldn't have been able to check out that quickly. Um, so they must have just put their items down and followed me out. And they um were right up behind me. So I called my husband and was just they have a code word. So I said our code word and was just talking to him and he was asking where we were, what we were doing. They while I was buckling my daughter in, I kept I tried to keep both of the kids as close to as possible. I knew what was happening. They came over to my car, walked in a circle around my car, which made no sense because their car was further away. And then as I was buffling my daughter in, they started walking in circles around my son's stroller, which was right next to me. It was there's no reason why they should have been next to me. And so I was too scared to say something to them. So I called to someone that was standing behind them and said, "Screw me, man. Could you help me?" and she came over and they ran away and got in their car and then Did you happen to see a license plate number on our van? I didn't. And I'm so mad at myself. I tried. I was just so flustered. And could you tell if they drove away or if they remained there? I think they drove away because the parking spot that I saw them in was vacated, but I didn't look to see like which way their car went, if they actually left. And then I when I my husband told me to get off the phone with him and call you guys and make sure they're not following which I don't see their car any following me. So I assume not. Okay. I'm going to go ahead and get some officers. They're going to check the parking lot up by Michael's to see if that van is still there. Do you remember anything distinctive about the van? Did it have windows? Did it have any logos on the doors? Bumper stickers? Anything like that? No logo. It was completely plain white. The driver was a male, Caucasian, like not white shoulderlength hair, but longer white blonde hair. Um, and he was wearing round brim glasses. Okay, hang on for one second. Okay, Katie, I'm going to put you on a brief hold and I'll be right back. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Hi. Can I help you? Yeah, I'm here to uh sign and obtain a copy of a stolen vehicle report. Okay. Were you told that the report was ready? I was told last the end of last week that I can come in anytime and it be I can sign it. Okay. Go ahead. I'll be right back. I'll be right back. Okay. All right. Thank you. Okay, Katie. Yeah. Okay. I got an officer. He's going to go check the the parking lot of Michael. See if we can locate that van. Then he's going to come and meet with you here at the police station. I'm going to give you another number to call that'll bring r directly into our dispatch center. Do you have something to write with a way to copy it down real quick? Um, just one moment, please. Okay, it's 7622727. That's in the 707 area code. That rings directly into dispatch. That's either me or one other lady that's going to answer the phone. When you get to the police station, just give us a call. Go ahead and stay in your vehicle since you got the little ones with you and just call us on that number to let us know that you're in the parking lot. I'll get an off the officer right out to meet with you. Okay. Okay. Thank you so much. And if you if you see the van again, if you think it might have followed you, call me right away on 911. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Byebye. Hello, police department. Hi, this is Katie Fornson. I'm just letting you know that I'm outside. Perfect. The officers are checking Michael's first. Was there anything? Yeah, they're going to check Michael's first, but I would just go ahead and stay in your vehicle for me. I know you have the little ones with you. Was there anything else that you remember about them that um the gentleman I'm sorry, my daughter's crying. The gentleman was story. Okay. Okay. Uh he was uh maybe Hispanic. Um, he was wearing a black hoodie that said Black Lives Matter and he had like one of those knee mask type things, the the mask that goes all the way around. Um, and then the Uh-huh. Yeah. From what I remember, the woman had a reddish hair. It was kind of like a dye. It wasn't It didn't look like natural red hair. Kind of dyed. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and she had her Yeah, she was white. Okay. Um, and the she was wear I don't know if she'd be wearing her mask still, but she was wearing like a blue mask. Like a surgical mask. No, it was a some sports team. Yeah, it was a fabric mask and there was some sports team on it or something. All right. Um, anything else about her? She was They were probably a little bit taller than me. So I'm 5'7, so like 5'8 the gentleman maybe. And she was about my same height. Okay. And how about the van? You said it was white. No. Was it like a panel or was it like a you know like a regular van? No, it was like uh not a minivan. Okay. Like whatever that like a panel van almost like Yeah. Did it have windows on it or anything like that? Um, only the driver's window is what I saw. Only the driver's side had a window. Yeah, the passenger side did not. I didn't Well, I didn't see the passenger side. Yeah. But there was no windows in the back basically. Okay. I'm not sure how it Okay. And no license plate. Correct. Uh, I didn't get a license plate. No. Okay. I do remember they were driving a um a four-door. It didn't It looked like a shorter vehicle if that makes sense. So I don't It's not a smart car, but just like a more compact. Um which car was this? I'm sorry. The van or is this a different car? No. So they the couple was in a separate car. So there were three people total. There was the couple. They were parked um not in front of me but two spaces to the left facing me. If that makes sense. What did that third person look like? The third person was the one that I said had longer sandy blonde hair um and was wearing round rim glasses and he was Caucasian. That was a a male. Correct. Yes. And what? And I only What kind of car was that one? You said it was a box. He was in He was in the van. Okay, that subject is decided to hand. What was the second vehicle then? The second vehicle, it was a the four-door um like a more compact type car. There was um What color? There was a glare. So, I I don't know if it was like black or purplish, but it was a darker color. Could have been green even. I don't know. Just the way the sun was. The glare is a darker darker color. Yeah. And a no plate on that one, right? No, I didn't. Okay. Okay. And the the second vehicle that you're describing, so the van was occupied by the male and then the second vehicle was the couple. Yes. Okay. And the the van appeared when I got out of the store and that's how I knew my instincts were actually legit cuz that it was too coincidental. Okay. Where in the parking lot were you guys? Were you towards the Michael's side of it with the parking lot? No. No, we were we were back towards right where that um middle there's like a middle stretch, you know, that's between the two parking lots. Does that make sense? Between Kohl's and Michael's? No, between uh we were right in front of Michael's. Directly in front of Michael's but back further in front of Michael's towards the back. Yes. Okay. I know. I just want to get out of the car seat. Huh? Okay. When they were talking about your children, was it like did it sound like crude or lewd like language that was used? No, it was factual. Just saying like he has brown hair. He has brown eyes. Like that. Yeah. Okay. Yep. And I thought I was crazy because I watch Dine and those kind of things. No, no, no way. But yeah. Okay. And you didn't say anything to security in the store when you were in Michaels or saying they staff? No. Well, there was a lady that was in front of me in line and I think she could sense what was going on. So, she actually was like giving my children stickers and then she said, "Oh, you have two kids. You go ahead of me." And so that I felt comfortable because I was like, "Oh, that gives me space." Because I felt creeped out by them. So that's why there's no way that they should have come out of the store at the same time as me because they there was one more person in line. There was only two registers open. They couldn't have been Got it. Got it. Anyway, so they just put their stuff down and followed me right out. Okay, perfect. And then is there anything else that you can remember about this situation? Um, no. Not with confidence like accurately, I don't think. All right, that's perfect. Well, we can always get any if they're they're at the lot right now, so they're searching and seeing if those vehicles are still there and then I'll have the officer meet you out front. Okay. Okay, great. Um, you can leave the kids buckled in or you can have them, you know, if they need to stretch those a little bit, you can out. Okay, great. Thank you. You're very welcome, Katie. They'll be with you as soon as they can. Okay. Okay. Thank you so much. You're very welcome. Bye-bye. Bye. Whatever 19 further description on the van is a panel type van with no windows in the back, unknown license plate, and there were a total of three subjects, two males, one female. The female was a WFA red hair, wearing a blue sports team mask, and the male was an HMA wearing a black described as a ski mask style mask, wearing a black hoodie 1910. Did they say where where in the lot they were? Stand by. Just one. Also, there's a second associated vehicle, a dark color four-door compact unknown. Make modeler plate. One 108. 1 46 97 coming from South [Music] right in front of me and they were kind of suspicious. They were watching me. I took a while to get out of the car cuz I had a stroller. Okay. Um for I have two kids and so they were kind of hanging around watching me and I thought I was being suspicious. They followed me throughout the entire store. Every aisle I went down, got in line right behind me were talking on the phone and they were say I wasn't listening to everything they said but they did say blonde hair, blue-eyed boy, girl. They were talking about my kids I think. Okay. Um, and then I was, we were in line. It was a very long line. The lady in front of me could kind of sense they were being off. They were just getting really close and just kind of saying weird things. Okay. And then, um, she let me get in front of her. I checked out. Um, they should have taken a while cuz they were another person behind her. They must have put their stuff down. They just followed me right out to the car. I called my husband and we have a code word so I said it and he's just stayed on the phone with me until I got the kids out. They were walking in circles around my car first and then as I was buckling my daughter in, they came up to the stroller, did one circle around the stroller, saw that I was watching them and I was too I don't know why I got too scared to say something to them. So I saw an old man behind them and he was looking and we just made eye contact and I said, "Excuse me, could you help me lift this?" and him and he was an older man so he must have had a caretaker or something. Yeah, they both came over and helped me and stayed with me until I left. Can you answer that? They're calling you. Okay. And then so where did the people go? Um so they got into their car there. Oh, this was another big part. When I walked up, I knew what was happening because there was a white van parked right next to my car with the slider door right close. So they could have just take them, put them in that white van. Okay, that's my assumption. Um, so the only thing you heard them say is possibly a description of your two kids or you and your two kids. Yeah, that's the only thing that was weird, but then they were circling my stroller and the car van that was parked wasn't their vehicle, they were in a different one. Okay. Um, and so whoever was in the van, he got out and then as those people were walking over to me, he got back in and I made eye contact with him and he and he was the guy with the rimmed glasses that you described. Did they? But so outside of proximity, did they communicate with each other? Are you just assuming they were? I'm just assuming they were. Okay. Um the van, do you you described them? Do you recall any like makes or models or anything like that? I don't Everything was so fast. I do recall like what their car looked like um cuz they were parked two over from me in front so I couldn't get the exact color, but it was like a compact um four-door darker color. I don't know the exact color. The way the sun was glared off of there. If you were presented photos of any of these people, would you be able to recognize them? Yes. Okay. Um, what? So, a compact darker colored. Just cuz I was looking at them cuz I I was trying to disregard my feelings and try to make conversation. Maybe I was just being crazy. So, I kept looking right at them to see if they would talk to me and they wouldn't make eye contact. the the van. What would you describe the van looking as? It was a white like that but with a slider on the other side and it wasn't that like that shiny paint. These aren't very professional terms, but it was more of a dull paint like it. Okay. Okay. What were the descriptions of the two females? Were the two ladies? No, it was a male and a female. Were the two people following you? Uh, the male and the female were two people following. Okay. Yeah. So, what the best description you can recall? Um, the male was he had darker skin tone, uh, maybe Hispanic, wearing a black hoodie that said Black Lives Matters, and had like a graffiti all around it. Um, the mask he was wearing was one of those pull kind of Well, no, it's just a pullover. Like a like a Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I don't know if that's helpful. Yeah, like a call gator. Gator. He had a shaved head. Um, she had like kind of box dyed looking red curlyish hair pulled back into a long tail. Sorry, he's they're they're doing a traffic stop on that van. So, I'm I'm trying to listen to that. What? describe the female again. Um, she was uh Caucasian, had reddish hair, but it was more of like box dyed. It wasn't natural red. Um, she had on a blue mask that had some sports team. I didn't see the logo. Um, I don't recall what she was wearing. Okay. So, blue mask, red hair. I mean, that'll stand out. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and about how I mean size was the the gentleman heavy set, lighter, anything like that? Lighter. He was uh more slender, probably about my height. So, I'm 5'7. Um, not super tall. She was a little bit shorter than him maybe. Um, but both slender. Okay. Um, I mean this and then I just kind of rough looking like I don't know how if that helps. That's fine. Yeah. Um, and they were on the phone with somebody making the giving the descriptions. I don't know if they were on the phone. I didn't turn around to see if they were talking over because I just heard and it didn't it was very weird context like it didn't uh And then I guess are are you or your husband I mean like important people for some reason? Is there something that they would be like we're going to take your kids and hold them a ransom? I might be by my kids are very goodlook. I don't know. I um I don't know. My my son has special needs so he's nonverbal. Okay. But I mean, as far as someone like seeking out us, no. Yeah. Um, have has anything like this happened in the past? No. Has any have any weird threats been made toward you or your husband? No. Nobody lingering around your house? Weird phone calls in the middle of the night? No. No. Uh, where do you live? Um, Soma. You live in Soma. Okay. What bring So, you came to Paluma just to go to Michaels or what? Michaels and Target pickup. This is where we run our errands. My husband works uh EMS Construction. They have their offices downtown, so they pedaling a lot. Okay. Um Oh, that's bizarre. Um and these people, well, you said they look rough looking and that your children are This didn't seem like a recruiter or something for like a modeling agency. They weren't like two very attractive kids and were anything. They would have said something to you most likely. They were just trying to take just try. Okay. Uh could I get your driver's license? Do you have that? What did he say? Okay, it's not not related. Uh so go to three and just uh add her to the call. So Edward 17 uh clear to copy 27 of the RP. Um, so it obviously the the suspicious behavior is super weird. The fact that they circled your car, circled the stroller is bizarre. I mean, we can it I don't necessarily know if it meets the criteria of like attempted kidnapping. Um, I don't care. I'm not I just want to make it people aware so it doesn't happen to someone else's all. Yeah, clearly. And that's why we have like three people circling the shopping centers over there. It's still like, what the heck's going on? Um, and then again associating the two different vehicles, that's just based on a hunch that you think they were associated. Okay. All right. Not a problem. But the gentleman in the van, aside from making eye contact with them, didn't appear to interact with anybody. Not I was so c I was on the phone with my husband like just freaking out. So I didn't really pay attention to that. I was just trying to get us safe in the car. They have Yeah. What uh I mean and again you guys obviously have your standard operating procedure. I've never heard of families having a safe word like that. What what what made you set that up? We listen to true crime podcast. Okay. Which is silly, but we just always decided that if it was more of if you were in trouble like yourself. So he didn't even know what I was talking about. He was like, "Wait, you're What's going on? Aren't you at Michael's?" Yeah. And then I was like, "I think someone's following us." Got it. And so Okay. Did you add it to the call? Yeah. Okay. Um, is your address on here still accurate? The Broadway unit A. What's your current address? It's Yep. H weird call. Uh and then you called on your cell phone so the call on the with our dispatch is accurate. Yes. Okay. Uh we'll keep looking for him and again we'll put a B out most likely for I mean it's a dark colored compact with a possible male Hispanic and then the description and a white female adult with red hair and a blue mask. um just to at least contact and sort it out. But again, criminally, it's going to be tough to string together what we got. So, okay. Well, sorry that happened to you today. That's a very rare occurrence, especially since I mean, you said there were a lot of people at Michaels. It's weird that they would have been that, you know, forthcoming. So, that was very weird. And like I said, we listen to crime podcast, so I try to like not go there, but it was that Yeah. And when they when you said they circled your car. What? Like they were I mean they So they were locked like they were being all cute locked arms. I was on this side of the car. They came here. They walked to here and then they went like kind of around us. So maybe that's when they talked to the van. I don't know. They went kind of around us in the van and then they were back in front of us and I was on the phone and then they came back. I was buckling her in. Had his stroller close but not within arms reach. They were walking towards the stroller. They did one lap around the stroller cuz I was watching them and then they started to do another and they looked at me so I was looking and then the gentleman behind them was making they weren't super close. They were were here. They were at the parking spot behind. Okay. We made eye contact and I said asked for their help. Okay. So, all right. I'll let you guys I'll let you guys get out of here. All right. Well, have a have a better day. Um we'll look for these people. Okay. Okay. Thank you so much. Not a problem. Yeah. All right. Monday of this week, my children were the targets of attempted kidnap. Um, which is such a weird thing to even vocalize. Um, but it happened. Um, and I want to share that story with you in an effort to raise awareness as to what signs to look for. Um, and to just encourage parents to be more aware of their surroundings and what is going on around them. Um, I think right now we are so distracted by um, everything that's going on in the world that we are kind of um, have our guards up so much about um, masks and wanting to keep our children safe that way that we're forgetting the most important way to keep them safe and that is with us um, and to not have them taken. So, I'm going to share a story um, in an effort to raise that awareness, but it's I'm not ready. I This is hard for me. I'm not ready to share this story, but I I know it's important and I would rather be uncomfortable um and awkward and get the message out sooner than wait until I feel composed. Um cuz I don't know if I'll ever be composed talking about this. Um so here we go. On Monday, like I said, my children were the um targets of attempted kidnap. We went to Michael's craft store just to run a few errands. Um, get some things to make some homemade gifts. Very quick trip. I have not taken my children out a lot as of late. Um, but this was just a con a situation where we just needed to run this errand and I thought I came prepared. I brought the double stroller. um thinking I'd just throw them in, cover them up, put the uh cover on top, and just walk through the store quickly, grab our stuff, and go. I only had two items I needed to grab. Um and then I did a Target pickup, so that was the only time we were getting out of the car. Um so, we get to Michaels, I park as far away as possible um in an effort to not inconvenience others with our big stroller. That's what I that was always my go-to whenever I brought the double stroller. I'd park far away so that people wouldn't um be frustrated with me taking forever getting the stroller in and out. Um that is the first thing that from this day forward I will be doing differently um if I ever choose to bring my kids out again. [Music] I'm recording now. The destination is on your left. Arrived. Good luck. Happiness. Think she's going to let us in? Oh, this is manual. You want these? You want me to hold these? Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. So this is service. Hello. Hello. [Music] How are you? Is it visit research? Yeah. Well, I'm sorry. Yeah, of course. Um, can we go inside? We can sit outside. Okay. So, obviously this is about the internet. Um, yes. Sorry. I'll take a seat over there. No, it's all good. I'll hide out here. No, this is just I have three kids, so it's kind of like So, um, I kind of want to get in your ward. Um, I get to Michael's. There was a gentleman parked. My car is right here. Um, there's a car parked right here. Um, the gentleman gets out of his car, walks towards my car while I'm getting around to my stroller. Um, and then he goes and gets back into his car. Um, and that was kind of gave me the heebie genies. Sorry. Um, and then I go into the store. Okay. And I am followed inside. Um, which that I mean if someone walks in at the same time as you, that didn't really throw me off too much. Um, but then we get into the store. I have to go directly to the bathroom spray paint. Um, so I go directly to the back, follow me to the back. Um, he walks right there at that point and they follow me to the back. Um, not super close behind, but I could just tell that they were watching me. Um, and then I hear them making remarks about my kids. Um, but I assume it's because neither of them are wearing masks. That's what I thought it was about. Um, and so I just keep doing my shopping. I pick up one more item and then I get in line and they get in line right behind me. Um, they didn't have anything in my hands. I was just in line and I noticed that. Um, I kept trying to make eye contact cuz I was trying to like discredit my what I was thinking. I didn't want to make assumptions. Um, and they wouldn't make eye contact with me, but they were like when someone's looking away but they're watching you. It's kind of like that. Um, There was a nice lady in front of me in the line who let me go ahead of her. Before that, I heard them saying more things about the kids and then they made a comment about um um how easy it would be to take them because I don't care about them. Um and I just froze up. I didn't react. didn't tell anybody or do anything. Um, a lady in front of me, she didn't I don't think she heard anything that was happening. Um, she let me get in front of her in line and I thought that was kind of like my way to get away from whatever the situation was that was happening. Um, so I go ahead, I check out and I go out to my car. As I'm going out to my car, I just call my husband and say something weird just happened. I feel like um I'm being followed. We had joked previously about having a code word if something said that and um he as I'm walking to the car and notice them behind me again. Um and this time they see me notice them and they pretend kind of like they're going to their car. I guess after that I'm unloading my daughter into her car seat. Um, prior to that, I look up and there's a white van parked very closely in the spot right next to my car. Um, and I do something dumb and go to the side that the van is on, even though I have a bad feeling about it. And I unloaded my daughter into the car. Um, and then I keep the stroller close to me. I I know that you're supposed to keep them close within mom's reach. Um, as I'm loading her in, the couple walks around the um, driver's side of my car twice, I think. I don't know how many times it was, but they're just awkwardly walking around my car. Um, and then from there, I get my daughter in, I close the door, and I open the trunk to put the stroller in and put my son in and just put him in that way. And Um, and as the trunk is opening, I see the couple and they're walking. Not holding hands. They're just like this. Um, like they're holding hands, but he has something in his hand and her hands just loose. Um, her. And from there um they take an awkward like two or three steps towards the stroller away towards away and then they reach for the stroller and in that moment a couple like an older gentleman and a younger lady are parked a few cars down um and they see what's happening. The gentleman does and he just like gets big eyes as if to ask me if I need help and I just yell for help. Um, and they come over. The couple gets in their car, drives off. Um, and I feel like a kind of a rush behind me. I turn around and there's a man right behind me. He kind of does an awkward like like he's going to help me or something and then just gets in this van and drives off. Um, okay. So, it sounds like the the initial statement that you gave as Officer McGovern was a lot different than what you had posted on Instagram, and that's why we're here. Okay. Um cuz what you posted on Instagram is pretty concerning to us. So, if we need if they're if this couple is out there attempting to steal children, right, we need we need to get all the details that we can. Yes. So, we uh we were able to go to Michael's today and pull up the video surveillance footage from that. Um, so there's just some clarifying stuff that um, so I want to show you a couple photos just to make sure we're talking about the same people if you're willing to look at them. Yes. So on the video footage, um, this couple actually is in this home for about 5 minutes. Both of them. Yeah. And so we watch them um we watch them through on the video footage throughout the store and and they're not following that you guys just happen the only time you guys come back together is in when you're in checking out. They come back they actually have product items with them. Um, so before we before we blast our photos out, right to the media to be on the I want to make sure that you're you're accurate and I'm not I'm not disheartening what you're telling me. I just want to make sure that because what you're telling us and what we're seeing from the video is they don't match. And I think this is I'm so glad that this happened. I think this was an important piece. I I think I you were the officer. I can't remember. Okay. That's why I'm here. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Um, you know, I It's a lot of work. Yeah. But this is my special needs special. So you when you're in a situation like that and you're on high alert. Absolutely. You hear you think you're hearing things. You think you know what's happening. So this is an important step that I think Awesome. So I am not like trying to stick to my story or whatever like that. No, I mean it's like if these people are out here doing what you're saying they're doing that that's something for us to address, right? Um our next step is going forward with this is um one prosecuting them right and two making sure this doesn't happen again. At the same time we need to make sure that that these people are in fact the people that you saw and they're doing what you were saying that they did cuz nobody wants to accuse somebody falsely. Right. Exactly. And that's why I'm a little discouraged of the fact that that isn't the same person that I saw in the parking lot if they were in there before me. Um, so you just looked at the photo and you said you were definitely I'm 100% sure that that's him. Um, I the only thing that I'm sorry I'm Can I see if he'll go inside for just a little less distracting? coming. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. This is his favorite. So, he should want me to walk through this. Come on. Dad, I'm assuming. Dave. Very cute kids, Dave. Very cute. Yeah, they are. Hey, people are trying to call you. Yeah, I know you're busy. Just I didn't realize. Um, you're cute, too. Is that what she says? Hello. She's saying hello. Yeah. Sorry. You probably won't leave me alone. So, that's fine. No, so anyway, back to this. We want to make sure that because we are going to put their pictures out on the on media. I think these the people that you in fact said were doing that and they reached for the stroller and they thought they were going to connect that. These are important important things that we part without a shadow of a doubt that is what was happening. There is no there is absolutely no rhyme or reason to someone taking steps forward and reaching that is without a shadow of a doubt. I can see how the timing of following um the timing of following in I can see how that could have been um misinterpreted. Um do you remember what they were saying to you? They didn't say anything to me. They were talking about the kids. They were describing their features. Um and then they said they made comments about them not wearing a mask. Um, I didn't listen clearly to everything that they were saying, but they were saying blonde hair, blue eyes, should be easy to distract one-year-old. Um, yeah, they were just saying like things. Usually, what I was expecting at first was I thought they were going to make comments that my kids were wearing mask, so that wasn't where my head was at. Um, and so I wasn't really listening in detail. I just heard a mask kid the first time that I heard them talking. Um, it's hard. I want to like be No, I want you to take I really do want to be 100% sure cuz I do not want to falsely No, no, no. Anything. Um, and we've all been there. It's like what what you see on Walmart and then you think about it later and you're like, "Hey, could you be here? Could be in the middle." Well, and in addition to that, like this whole Instagram thing, like I had I last night, yesterday, had 3,000 followers, mostly friends, people I went to school with. Like, I did not think that this was going to be anything at all. Um um people calling us because they haven't now afraid of their children, which is which is one step. We either want to reassure them that this that we're doing everything we can to find them. Yeah. Or you know, we just said we're trying to give you justice and and to do the right thing here. Um, at the same time, there's a lot of there's a lot of eyeballs watching what's happening. So, 100% they reached for my stroller. 100% they were saying things that they shouldn't have been saying about my kids. Um, 100% they circled my car towards the end. Um they were parked closer to Michael, you know, they had no reason to go three cars beyond their own car to walk around my wife's car, right? You know what I mean? That that's what's really um and that that is of like I will test that is what happened. Um one thing that I have felt like I don't have 100% and when people ask me I say I don't really know is the white van. It there it very well could have just been coincidental that someone was in a van right behind me. It could have been a coincidence that he saw these guys doing something and maybe he did think he wanted to help. So, I don't feel comfortable or confident like calling out whoever that person is. I hope that that's that is the case and that we're not you're not missing out on targeting someone else. But I do they for sure reached for my stroller and for sure walked around my car um and for sure were saying things about So when they reached for your stroller, were your kids in the stroller? Just he was. She was in her seat. He was um in the he was in the top seat. So he was but the stroller was facing me um or behind my car. He it's facing me so it's facing away from them. And the way my stroller is is that um I there's a seat on the bottom. So they were reaching for like that bottom seat that is that where he was? He was in the top seat. Yeah. I'm facing away from them. So the bottom seat is in the back um facing forward. And did they say anything to you? No. And I kept trying to make eye but I couldn't say anything to them for them to go away. But I was trying to make eye contact just to even let them know that I was watching. They wouldn't talk to me. They wouldn't say anything. Um but at the end when I asked for help, they did kind of go like as if I was talking to them maybe or something. And then they got in their car. So um the gentleman in the white band was still there when you asked for help. Is that who who were you asking help to? Uh so um the way the cars were parked there they were parked um closer to the store and closer to the Dollar Tree area. Um and it was just someone an old man who happened to be out um behind his car. He either just out there. I didn't pay attention to that aspect, but um he was just behind his car and just looking right at what we were doing. And that's who you were asking for help. That's okay. Yeah. And when you did this, what did this couple do? They just like kind of paused and went up and then just got in their car and walk. And they never ever said anything to you. Not in the store, not outside. And I tried to make eye contact multiple times while we were in line cuz it was a really long line. Um I did try to like look and kind of see. I even smiled at which I was stupid. But I did smile like try to engage and they just wouldn't look at me directly. So judging the distance like you and I are standing right now, how close do you think they got to you in the store? No, outside the store. Oh, outside the store. Um to me personally, not very close because the way the stroller was is um off the trunk and um the stroller was like in front of the trunk. I was on this side of the trunk. Um, and they were the stroller had some leeway to it because of that. Like I mean I as far as like the distance between you and your husband. No. So I would say like to the to the side. So maybe 10 ft. Yeah. That's just why would they need to be that close? And then how close were they to the stroller? They were within hands reach of that bottom seat. So if you're standing here and they're they're at the end of their stroller is I I don't have kids so I'm just trying to wrap my head around a stroller length. Um your stroller is How long is your stroller? It's I can show it to you. The length of that bench the length of the bench. Yeah. Because with the handles and then with the two seats. Yeah. Yeah. And when they reached for the front of their stroller, how close do you think their hands felt to the front of the stroller? If you just guesstimate, I mean, don't even they didn't touch it. Kind of bad. And was it the male or the female that reached out? It was the male. The male. You tell them details like you went to the very back corner of the store to get your spray paint and they followed you. watched the footage and this couple didn't come in. It's not the same couple that came in at the same time as these people that she's saying that all of her out were already in the store 5 minutes before to watch them throughout the store and they don't come on surveillance. They don't come with anywhere near her until they everybody's in line and these people in line have them. So that's why we drove out. We're trying trying to call her to kind of clarify some of this. Yeah. Um, I'm so sorry the kids I I really didn't have my and I've been trying not to look at it cuz it's too much for me right now. Yeah. Yeah. I don't This is all our property so Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so would you recognize these two if you saw them again? If we were to give a do a photo lineup, would you recognize them again? Yeah. Okay. And um willing to go forward with prosecution? Yes. Okay. All right. So, what we're going to do is we're going to work these people. We're probably going to put this out in some social media, see if some people can help us. Um, and then Al McGovern will contact you at a later date. We have a little lineup. Maybe you can come down to the station to to view that. Okay. Um, having sitting here, is there anything else that you're I would like I don't know if you guys have insight into this because I don't know how to handle this social media thing. I don't want to misrepresent what has happened. I do think it's important for mom parents to be aware, but I don't like it makes me a little uneasy that you guys are getting blown up about this. I mean, I think it's important, but I also I don't want to I guess I'm feeling doubt that I misremembered the story and I don't want to misrepresent what happened and make it a bigger I don't know. Um I I can't I can't give you a question for my personal. It's like if I if I am a victim of something like this, I would want to um trust us, right, that we're going to do the right thing. I would like to trust the police form and they're going to do the right thing or I don't know if and this is just me. I don't know if I would want my stuff blasted over. I mean I don't know how that makes you feel. It would make me feel uneasy. Um but it it definitely makes it harder for us to find them and prosecute them when it's everywhere. Yeah. Um it just does it it's kind of like I don't need to say this, but the OJ Simpson thing, it was it was so blasted everywhere, right? Yeah, they had a hard time finding a town that they could prosecute if they could get 12 jurors that didn't know anything about it. Do you know what I mean? So, this doesn't help us when it goes out when it gets blasted like this. Um, and yeah, that's what I don't want. I care more about them not doing this again. I care more about like parents being more aware, but I don't think it's necessary for everybody to know all the details of uh everything. So, I guess that was just you answered my question was to just keep that. Um, I did turn off all of the comments and I'm not whatever. And I'm not Instagram. So, I don't even know how all that works. Um, but I'll let you I'll let you drive. That is your Instagram account. I'm not I'm not telling you to do and don't, but I'm telling you that this for us. Yeah. So, what kind of car were they driving? I don't know. That's the one thing I have I don't I'm not good at knowing makes and models of cars and so I just didn't I it looked it was a darker color. Um it's all it maybe a compound. I can't do it now. Okay. And sometimes these things come back after we're gone. So I did actually I want to get my phone cuz I did have someone message me and say that something similar happened to them at in that Michael's parking lot and they sent me a picture of the car with a license plate of that. Does that look like your car? Like the car that you saw them get into? It was It's the same color. I I wasn't paying attention to their car. I was so focused on that. I wasn't really paying attention to that. Yeah. You want to grab that? But I don't know if that's useful. Hey, what are you doing? Cute. [Music] [Music] I'm going to take a picture officer. Yeah. So, I was obviously the one who came out there with my my trainee the other day and spoke with you in in front. Um, when I obviously because I was your point of contact in this and we spoke that day about what happened and I was shown the video this morning after uh various friends of mine also sent it to me and the the the incident that you reported to me that day. Obviously, there are very very similar on the information, but some of the things that I think I explained when I was there to make up different elements of kidnapping for us to be able to to, you know, call in the helicopter, bring out the dogs, the different things that we do to track these people down weren't necessarily there in my conversation with you. Um, and the post to Instagram mentioned a couple of different things. and specifically uh the the lunging and reaching for your your stroller was not mentioned to me that day. Um which is is an element that makes up the kidnapping. Um the day that we were there, the the circle following you in the store um was there making the offhand comments about possibly your your children's description and not wearing masks was all there obviously in the line was there. We can see it in the video footage. They're they're clearly in line behind you. Um and walking out to the parking lot. Uh, do you remember, and again, we're trying to figure out this timeline because I have to do my report based on what you told me and based on what I I I followed up on. Uh, the when they were following you in the parking lot, do you remember how delayed they were? Because you mentioned that it didn't appear at the time that they were buying anything. Um, and most likely given the time span between getting out there, they would have had to either dump their stuff or or ignore it. Do you recall now that you've had a week or so to to kind of look back on it and obviously and reenact it, do you have an idea of how long it took them to get back out to you? I mean, like all the way to turned around and saw I was like partway through the parking lot cuz when I came out, what I did was I was like, I'm just going to go to Dollar Tree. I was so nervous. I was like, I'm just going to go to dollar store. So, I went like I was going to go there. I was like, "No, I'm going to keep going." Um, and I was probably part way to my car. I don't When you realize that they were still behind you myself right now. We're not trying to We're not trying to to cause it's it's again when it when we last week when this happened, we scoured the lot. We had four officers over there looking for this because of what the description was. We stopped the white van which turned out to be completely unrelated. Um so we got that part of it kind of buckled up and dialed in. It was the other vehicle and the other people we were looking for. Um but again the the the conversation we had it was boiled down to inappropriate behavior, possibly suspicious, but the kidnapping wasn't there. So when this popped up and now it looks like a kidnapping was attempted, it makes it makes the officers who responded out there now we're going we we're fall back a step cuz now we got to catch the ball to try to catch these people. Right. As we said, it's like now it's broadcast. We don't want these people to get away. Um so I'm trying to just establish the timeline. So again, if you were halfway through the parking lot, um I would like not even 2 minutes. I mean, I can look at our time stamp. Um cuz I called him as soon as I got out. You go right from Michael's back to your car. Yeah. So, in in reviewing the film, um, which and again, I I scoured through it. Michael, it's Michael's. It's not really a high-end store. They don't have cameras on every shelf, right? But they have everything they need to to cover theft. So, the front, the the line, and then the exit. Um, Detective Yorker already explained they obviously they were in the store shopping before you got inside. Um it clearly shows that they were in there for quite a while picking out some goods and you ended up coming in with your children. Obviously they were in line behind you. Um is when they they they in fact did actually buy items which obviously we figured out. The man did exit the store quickly behind you. But the woman remained in the store for almost a minute uh chitchatting with the the clerk. They were she was trying to make a sale. She was scanning something on her phone. I'm assuming that was like a receipt or a coupon. Yeah. So, she remained in the store and was making transactions. That's why I'm trying to see if if the if if you recall both of them how long we got to their car at what point they linked back up. The hand in hand, I didn't visually see that until they were surrounding walking around my car. So, I they weren't walking hand in hand behind me out of the store. Okay. Um because I was so like just trying to get to the car, I didn't turn around and look. I just felt behind me. I just felt Yes. And then getting to my car and seeing them do that is so but the last time you saw them they were inside the store and then upon exiting they were also both together. It wasn't just the guy or just the girl. It was both of them were were linked back up at that point. Yeah. At the point that I without a shadow of doubt saw them. Yes. Both together. Um and then again the reaching is now what makes it more of an an actual attempt possible attempted kidnapping. Is there any and again we all have children obviously they they they bring emotion well not all I have two children of similar age is there any possibility that the action that you saw of him possibly reaching was was him giggling or waving at your child my child was facing me so there's no way there was no it looked as though he was possibly reaching for the stroller yes and they I there is no excuse I would love to hear if there is a one for taking a few steps forward towards the stroller a few steps back a few forward and I saw I saw some he had something in his hand cuz that was my first red flag is why are they holding hands like like what he he was carrying a phone the whole time he was in the store so that's probably I don't know why he would have changed his behavior in the parking lot but that's what he was and then when she left the store she was carrying a bag um of belongings but um the at any I'm trying to figure out what else I need to to to tie this together uh the the way that they were looking at your kids in the store. Um, for the vid, there's no audio with this. It's all CCTV video. It's only for the purpose of proving if someone's in possession of property or not. Basically, right? So, I can't hear anything. Uh, were your noise or were they crying or or yelling or anything like that? There's no other reason that that people would have been drawn towards or paying attention to your kids. No, except for that my son. I mean that's the only thing cuz he was eating a granola bar and she was quiet. There was a lady in front of us. I don't know if you saw she was interacting with us kids. Uhhuh. You can see her in the video interacting with you. Um uh and did any other than than what you might have heard them say, did anybody else talk to you about the kids wearing masks or anything about anybody in this? So other than talking to possibly employees, no other words were exchanged with anybody else. Nope. Just when I first walk in, I talked to the sales clerk and let her know that I was going straight back to the spray paint and that I needed someone to open it for me. Yeah. And then I talked to her and then I talked to the lady in front of me nine and that was it. Okay. All right. I think I can I can finish what I need. I'm going to leave you my business card. Okay. Um if you think of anything or if you have any questions, uh feel free to give me a call. I'm sure has given you this business card. Did I give you my card the last time? that thing with the event number on it. Oh, no. And you may have. I just don't remember. I guess I was so thinking. Yeah, fairly soon I did. I was also manhandling my uh my trainee, so I might not have. But yeah. Any questions for us? No, just just a statement that she was on the phone with me the entire time and she was saying these people are very doing very weird things. They're circling the car. She was telling me that on the phone. They're they're they're looking like they're trying to lunge at me, but they're not like not she didn't use the word lunge because I would not I was ultimately the one that said, "Scream out at anybody you can find." She turned and immediately and I heard her say, "Excuse me, ma'am." and yell. And she said at that moment was when he and she was leading up to that, she was telling me, "He's doing weird things. He's trying to like walk towards me, but trying to walk back. I can't tell what they're doing. He's like just that I mean that that's all I really have. It just that the only thing it is. So, we're we're in the process of getting some video for in the parking lot. Okay. Um hopefully that can give us a license plate or maybe a formal face description. Um yeah. So hopefully um but again if you have any other questions or statements or maybe you want to clarify something else or definitely give either one of us a call. If you can answer your phone call that would be yes I will keep it posted. I put it away because I I had to turn off the comments. I just that's something I need to figure out. We were uh we called you because we were going to do this interview over the phone. Well I apologize next time that is perfectly fine. Thank you very much. Thank you. Yeah. Have a good evening. Hi. If you're watching this, you are either a friend of mine, a family member, or you are one of 4 million people who watched the last video that I posted to social media in December of 2020 recounting an incident that I had while out shopping with my children. Um, if you're not familiar with who I am, um, my name is Katie Sorenson. I am infamously known as the Karen who cried kidnapping as cleverly coined by L magazine. Um I pretty much never wanted to get back on social media again after what has occurred over the past 4 years. But um unfortunately this story has spun so far out of control that it's gone beyond just being a story that people are mocking me um a mom for faking a kidnapping claim for clicks which is completely inaccurate to what actually occurred. Um, and now it has turned into people um, mocking my family, um, my children, my husband, and I I can't stay quiet about that anymore. Um, I've always intended on sharing my story, um, sharing the story of what happened. Um, and I really wanted to do so in a very um, wellthoughtout manner because the last time that I shared a story online um, I went to jail for that and so I I'm definitely hesitant to share. Um, but unfortunately I've just I've gotten to a point now where I have to just kind of take the dive in and begin to advocate not for myself but for my family at this point. Um, as a mother it is my purpose in life to protect my children and it is an instinct that I will always adhere to unapologetically. On Monday, December 7th of 2020, I felt as though my children were in danger. And so, I did what we have always been taught to do, which is if you see something, say something. I went to the local police department and filed a report. And if you followed my story, you know exactly how that played out. There are so many details to this story and to this case that prove that I was honest in my recollection of events as they transpired in December of 2020. The biggest indicator of this should be the two not guilty verdicts found in my case. If you're unfamiliar with the um with the case itself, they um I was charged with three counts of filing a false police report. The first count was my 911 call to dispatch, which um I actually didn't call 911. I called the police department to just simply um report suspicious behaviors and then they transferred me to 911. Um, and I am going to get ahead of myself often here because there are so many things I want to correct because I've just watched for the past 4 years people so grossly misinterpret and misrepresent what happened. So, if I take long pauses, it's because I'm reminding myself that now is not the time to fight that battle. So, um, I was transferred over to um, dispatch. And that is the first count. The second count was my follow-up with police as they had requested for me to come to the police department to follow up and um finalize details of this reporting. Um less than a week later, I followed up with police regarding my reporting and was told that the case had been closed, that they couldn't find any information. Um and I found that to be really discouraging. I sat in a lot of guilt and shame around the way in which that I handled the situation as it transpired. Um that guilt and shame was rooted in me not reacting the way that I thought I should have. Um I want to be very clear on that. The guilt and shame that I felt was rooted in me not reacting the way that I felt that I should have when faced with a situation like thinking that my children were in danger. Um, so a few days following, I decided to post to social media and share with my um, small Instagram account what had happened. Um, if you watched the video, you saw that it was very self-deprecating. I was not out for attention. I wasn't out for vengeance. I wasn't out saying, "We need to find these people." It was simply a video saying, "Hey guys, I acted in a way that I never thought I would react when faced with a situation where I felt my children were in danger." And I carry so much guilt and shame for that. I want to empower you to make sure that if you're ever faced with a situation where you're fearful for your kids, you know what you're going to do cuz you always think you know what you're going to do and then you get in that situation and you don't do it. Um, that was it. That was the messaging of that video. um and it ended up going viral and that's when things kind of spun out of control. Um so that brings me to the third count that I was charged with. Following the viral nature of that video, police came to my home and followed up with me um requesting specific statements and information. Now, um, this interaction haunts me to this day because I was not aware enough to know that I did not need to allow police into my home at that time and it would have been in my best interest to have a lawyer present during that discussion. Um, but because I was being honest and because I was felt confident, um, I I that thought didn't even cross my mind to need a lawyer present. Um, and so I went forward with that discussion with police and that is the count that I was found guilty on for filing a false police report. Um, so yeah, again, so many things I want to share and so many things that I want to say. I just don't really know um where to start. Um, you may think that you know who I am based off of these headlines and the things that you've read and seen online, but the truth is none of that is telling of who I really am. And I of course I can say that anyone can advocate for themselves and say you don't really know me. Um, but I want to invite you and encourage you to come along with me or on your own. See for yourself what actually occurred. Have you seen the police footage, all of the footage in its entirety? Have you taken the time to do that? Have you read through all of the court transcripts, the entirety of the court transcripts, and seen what actually occurred in court? Are you familiar with the histories, the criminal histories, the professional histories of all involved in this case and how seemingly everyone has benefited from this situation that's been involved um with me as the exception, which I I never intended to benefit from this. So, um it's neither here nor there with for me. Um, before I share any further, I think it's really important for me to clarify that by stepping forward and sharing, I have no intention to disparage anyone involved. Um, I do not stand for bullying, harassment, or hate speech of any kind. And I want it to be known that if that has occurred for anyone on my behalf, that is not representative of me. I do not stand for that. Um, this situation is the perfect reflection of our society's obsession with social media culture, outward appearances, um, pledging loyalties to certain groups or ideologies. um when in reality underneath all of that we are all the same. I think the most unfortunate part of this situation is that people were pitted against one another wrongfully. And this is a situation that so easily could have been resolved had the people who were in charge of how this all played out done their job in the name of peace, promoting peace and doing what's best for the community instead of trying to fuel a narrative and pit people against one another. Um it's you'll see you'll see. Um, I want to leave you with my initial statement that I made in July of 2022. Um, this was prior to the trial actually beginning and is the statement that I gave in hopes of us being able to find some sort of resolution as opposed to going to trial. Because of the way that everything played out, I never had an opportunity to correspond with those involved. Um, I never had the opportunity to talk to anyone. I was vilified from the beginning. Um, and was kind of pigeonholed in a sense and given um, no voice. I I didn't even have the opportunity cuz had I had I done what I wanted to do, that could have been used against me um, and criminalized me further. And so um, and by that I mean apologize. An apology. That's the society we live in, you guys. An apology could have been used against me to criminalize me. This whole this whole situation, I look back and I think, yuck. This is the world we live in that we have to play all these games and that we can't just be honest. Um, which I know it's ironic coming from the person who went to jail for lying. Um, so anyway, here's that statement. Just a note, I have redacted the names of those involved. I have never nor will I ever use their names publicly out of respect for their privacy. I am deeply sorry for the pain, confusion, and heartache that this situation has wrought upon their loved ones and the Paluma community. As a mother, it is my purpose in life to protect my children. It is an instinct I will always adhere to fiercely. However, I am human and my instincts and intuition are not always perfect. On Monday, December 7th, 2020, I felt as though my children were in danger. After careful review of the evidence provided by the Paluma Police Department, it is apparent to me that my children were not in the danger I thought they were in. I now believe did not attempt to kidnap my children. I'm sincerely remorseful for the pain that this has so clearly caused the family and would welcome the opportunity to engage in any form of discussion with them so that I can personally convey my thoughts and feelings to them. Sincerely, Katie Sorenson. [Music] Unfortunately, this opportunity was never granted to me. There is still so much left to this story. We are only barely scratching the surface here, but I just could not in good conscience let the narrative running rapid all over the internet continue without speaking up and saying something. I look forward to finally having a voice in all of this after 4 years of being silenced. I have a lot in the works as far as how I'm going to be sharing and don't have any set timeline. Um, but this right here is my start. I refuse to engage in the back and forth in the comments of the last video I posted, mostly because I just don't have the time or energy. And honestly, even if I did, it seems like it would be a waste of both. There are clearly people who have already made up their minds and taken the tidbits of information they have to form their opinion and have decided that they know who I am and what happened. And honestly, I get it. I don't expect people to go out of their way digging into this story. What I don't understand though is the people out there sharing this story themselves using catchy headlines for clicks so grossly misinformed. As I said in the previous video, there are so many details to this situation. It really is impossible to tell in this format on this platform. So, I do not intend to continue the conversation here on Instagram. Um, but before I talk a little bit more about that, I just want to address um the most common comments and questions. A lot of people kept saying that they never followed this account. Well, this account has been stagnant for 4 years now. I didn't post and it was set to private. Um, another thing people mentioned often, yes, 12 months of that time was per my probation, which included no social media presence. This occurred from June 2023 to June of 2024. Any time not on social media outside of that was by choice. If you at any point requested to follow during that time when the profile was private, when I switch it to public, you automatically followed. Um, if you fall into that category and no longer want to be following, please unfollow. There is also seemingly a great deal of confusion around how I could have made the statement that I read in court and also maintain that I did not lie. There are circumstances in which two things can be true at once. This was referenced on the Stand with Katie page, but does anyone remember the dress? The 2015 viral phenomenon where people would look at the exact same picture of a dress and see two different color patterns. The real color of the dress was black and blue, but some people saw white and gold. Does this mean that the people who saw white and gold were knowingly lying about what they perceived because it was incorrect? No. They were just incorrect in their perception. Another example that is a little more relevant to this situation um is someone who worked on this case with me recounted a story in which she was approaching her vehicle and noticed someone trying to break in. She decided not to confront and to call 911. The person breaking in was also on their phone. When cops arrived, they were there on two separate calls, one for a break-in and one for someone who locked their keys in the car. It turned out that the woman who thought someone was breaking in was at the incorrect car, but they both looked the same. Does this mean that she filed a false police report because the information she gave to police turned out to be false? No, it doesn't. California Penal Code 148.5 PC is the law that prohibits you from making a false police report of a crime. However, false reporting is only a crime if you know it is false. Two recent examples of this occurring in the United States are the cases of Carly Russell and Jesse Smlette. Carly Russell faked her own abduction and Jesse Smlette hired actors to fake a race crime against him. I reported real actions that factually and were proven in court to have occurred. People who keep saying I lied are confusing lying with misinterpretation. And the two are very different. As I made clear in the statement that I made in court after reviewing the information presented to me by the police regarding the incident, I can see that the couple had reasons for their actions um and explanations for the series of events as they transpired. So, I no longer believed that they were trying to kidnap my children. But this realization could not be made until police investigated further. Once a police report is filed, a police officer's job is to investigate the incident further by gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, identifying potential subjects, and then determining if enough information exists to pursue charges. In this case, upon my initial report, police did not have enough information as they had not yet pulled any video footage or located all of the suspects. A commonly made comment and constant speculation is that I lied about the reaching for the stroller and that this was the damning piece of evidence that wound up with a guilty verdict. Well, this action was testified in court by the person accused of making this gesture to have actually occurred, but was misinterpreted as a reach. It was testified to being a gesture of disappointment made presumably in the direction of my stroller behind my vehicle upon realizing that the restaurant that they were headed to was not yet open. And finally, the race narrative. I know that I will never say anything that will appease those who have already made up their minds regarding this aspect, but I do think that it is important to note that the report I made to police involved a white male, a white female, and a possibly Hispanic male in that order. If you have heard my recounting of events from December 2020, you'll remember the man in the white van parked next to my car. Well, just out of genuine curiosity, where is all the outrage about him? Why hasn't anyone spoken out about him? Why wasn't his picture released? I want you to think back to what was happening in December of 2020 in the world of law enforcement and ask yourself, why did this case seemingly matter so much? I have been offered numerous opportunities to share this story and have turned them all down because contrary to popular belief, I am actually not chomping at the bit for attention. However, as I've stated before, this has become so out of control that in order for my family and myself to move on, I have to address the truth of what happened. I am still working out all of the details and logistics as to how I will be moving forward. And for those of you who are interested, I will keep you updated as to what sharing is going to look like. Um, I not intended to speak out about this for at least the next few months. However, because of the accusations and information spinning around the internet that has just recently been released, I had to speak out. That said, the last thing I'm going to address are the things being said about my family, specifically about one of my children. Um, if you've seen any of the footage that has been released on YouTube, you may have noticed that one of my children is featured in that video. The amount of hateful comments that have been received about him, as well as videos made by YouTubers who proclaim to be speaking out in the name of not exploiting children, is absolutely disgraceful. My son has autism. My son did not speak his first words until he was 6 years old. Even now, he is still unable to speak to us um without being prompted. The only way that he has been able to communicate his wants and needs is through physical actions. And the comments made about my son's gestures and how he was behaving during that correspondence really are appalling. I think it is very interesting to witness so many people talking negatively about me in defense of people thinking that they are advocating for the right thing when with that same voice they're mocking a child with special needs. The irony here is that some of you making those comments may not have even been aware of the fact that my son has special needs. But does that take away from the hurt of your comments towards me? No. But would I venture to make the blanket statement that you are an abbleist bigot who is anti- autism and discriminates against those with special needs? Absolutely not. Would I hold you accountable for making those comments and not knowing about his diagnosis the same way I would hold you accountable if you were knowingly making disparaging comments about a special needs child? No. with the same voice that you are condemning me for lying. You are spewing absolute incorrect misinformation about myself, this situation, and my family on the internet. I just want to end by saying all of this sharing in this way and navigating the future steps of sharing is very unchartered territory for me and it is very very important to me that I share this story in a way that is as respectful and considerate as possible to all involved. I don't want to hurt anyone in sharing, but I deserve to advocate for myself and I will do that.