SHOPPERS across the country are fearful after a spike in kidnappings has hit the US in several retailers such as Walmart and Target including a man that allegedly tried to buy a little girl for $100,000.
A Florida man was arrested last month after allegedly attempting to purchase an eight-year-old girl at a Winn-Dixie store, said police.
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Hellmuth Kolb approached Lauren Benning and began asking about her daughter, WESH reported.
"He just came up, and he started making comments about how pretty she was and how good her dancing was and how he could never have children, and he wanted children," said Benning.
The mother chatted with the man for a few comments before walking out of the store, however, Kolb, a registered sex offender, left through another exit and approached Benning again in the parking lot.
Benning claims the man "chased me down in the parking lot and said, 'Hey, I want to make a deal with you. I'd like to buy her for $100,000,'" she said.
READ MORE CRIME
"I was in complete shock," she added."
Kolb had been on probation when he approached the mother for charges related to a similar attempt at purchasing a child for $200,000 in 2018.
He was arrested on August 25 for violating the terms of his probation and is currently being held without bond, according to court documents.
Kolb reportedly told authorities, "We all like kids," as he was being questioned.
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"He needs to be locked up and not allowed to be near our children," said Benning.
The woman's daughter was not hurt during the incident but Benning said she was shaken up by the bizarre encounter.
WALMART SCARE
Police arrested Jessica Vega, 35, in San Antonio, Texas after she allegedly tried to take the shopping car of a mother who had her child inside at a Walmart.
The mother had been shopping with her two daughters, one of whom is four.
Police say, Vega allegedly grabbed the woman's cart and began pushing it away with the toddler still inside.
The mother's other daughter was holding the car when Vega reportedly took it from her hands.
Newsweek reported that the mother screamed at Vega, who did not respond at first but later allegedly told her: "Just because she's yours, doesn't mean I can't take her," before leaving the store.
A Walmart employee intervened and allowed the mother to remove her daughter from the shopping cart.
A loss prevention officer at the retailer told police that she recognized Vega from a separate incident at another Walmart.
KIDNAPPED OUTSIDE TARGET
Jasmine Contreras, 29, was reportedly kidnapped outside of a Target store in broad daylight after witnesses said she was offered a ride in an older car and failed attempts to escape.
The alleged kidnapping happened in Lancaster, about 70 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, California on July 8.
The Lancaster Sheriff's Station has listed Contreras as a "critical missing person," according to KABC.
She was last seen being driven away in a 1950 burgundy Mercury, said to have chrome wheels and be missing its hood, per the outlet.
Investigators told KABC a witness reported seeing two women being offered a ride just before 9am on Thursday outside of the store on 10th Street West and Avenue K.
One woman, described as a 34-year-old Latina woman, was able to get away, according to cops.
Authorities say Contreras tried to get out of the car, but say the driver would not allow her to do so.
Police said the suspect is being described as a white male in his 60s.
Detectives say Contreras is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds and was last seen wearing a white tank top and black pants.
PARENT WARNING
A mother and her one-year-old child were abducted by two men at Target in Memphis, Tennessee on August 31.
One man, who was armed, got out of a car and demanded the woman give him cash, WREG reported.
Cops revealed that mom, who didn’t have any money on her, told the man to take her wallet and cards.
She gave the man the PIN belonging to one of her cards, according to police.
The mom was ordered to get into the car and the man allegedly snatched the toddler out of the shopping cart.
Cops revealed that they were driven to a Regions bank which is located less than three minutes away from the Target store.
Around $800 worth of cash was withdrawn from the ATM.
The woman and her child were then driven back to the Target parking lot and released, but the suspects kept her wallet.
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, attempted abductions normally happen on the street while children are walking, riding their bikes or playing outside.
Usually, school-age children are kidnapped before or after school when kids are traveling to and from home.
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In 2021, the NCMEC tracked 395 attempted abductions involving 499 children.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Target, Walmart and Winn-Dixie for comment.
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