Little Girl Left Alone With a Stranger

Feb. 17, 2009— -- Playgrounds are meant to be fun, safe havens where parents keep a watchful eye on their children.

But what if a stranger is lurking, someone who clearly doesn't belong? And what if that stranger approaches a child whose guardian may have momentarily stepped away?

It is a fear every parents has -- that someone will come along and lure their child away. In fact, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said even though children are warned of the danger, seven out of 10 will walk off with a stranger.

That's exactly what happened to 11-year-old Carlie Bruscia from Florida. In 2004, Bruscia was walking home when she was abducted near a car wash. The incident was caught on surveillance tape.

Ernie Allen, the president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said that was the last time she was seen. "What was so terrifying was watching that tape and seeing how easy it was and how quickly it happened," he said. Days after the abduction, police found Bruscia's body.

So we wondered, what would people do if they saw a child who appeared to be alone in a playground, approached by a stranger? Would they confront the predator? Call the police? Or simply let the child walk off?

We rigged a park in suburban New Jersey with hidden cameras and hired an actor, Kevin, to portray our suspicious character. The little girl, Katie, was also an actor hired by "What Would You Do?"

Leave Her Alone

In our first scene, Katie's nanny, who was also an actor in this scenario, walked off to use the restroom. Kevin approached Katie by the swings and it took very little time for Deanna Schneider, a mother of two, to notice. She immediately honed in on the conversation as Kevin began to compliment Katie.

"I like your pigtails," he said.

He asked Katie to help him find his lost dog.

Schneider listened intently for a few minutes and then approached Kevin. "Excuse me, can you leave her alone? Her mom's not here, she shouldn't be talking to strangers," she said.

But under our direction, Kevin persisted and Schneider intervened again. She moved quickly toward Katie while holding onto her own two children. "Katie, stay right where you are," she said.

Schneider then motioned toward another observer. "If you don't leave this girl alone, I am going to ask this gentleman to call the police," she said to Kevin.

At that moment ABC News producers intervened to explain that the situation had been part of an ethical dilemma scenario constructed by "What Would You Do?"

Schneider explained that she had to get involved, "A little child by themselves ... you have to protect them."

'That Was Just Perfect'

Steve Katz was the next person to react to our scenario. He was immediately suspicious when the "predator" asked Katie for help finding his puppy. Katz inched closer and closer to Katie until he was right behind her. Soon, Katz had heard enough and told Kevin to back off.

Then, directed by our behind-the-scenes "What Would You Do?" producers, Kevin made one more attempt to get the little girl to go with him. "Katie, I think I see her. Come here, I think she is down here," he said. Katie jumped off the swing to go with him.

Katz immediately took action. He introduced Katie to his young daughter, Sarah, and instructed them to swing together until Katie's nanny returned.

Our expert, Ernie Allen, explained why Katz's approach was good. "That was just perfect. He listened, he was polite, but he intervened in a firm and decisive way and I think moving the child with his daughter was a very effective approach."

No One Said a Word

In most cases, our predator's shady appearance put people on the alert right away, except in one disturbing case. A man who was standing a couple of feet away never noticed that our young actress was in danger. Within a couple of minutes of his approach, Kevin had convinced Katie to go off with him. Our predator took Katie's hand and they walked off. No one said a word.

"I'm afraid this is what is more likely taking place in playgrounds and street corners and shopping malls across America," said Allen.

The Preppy Stranger

As a twist, we decided to see what would happen if we brought in Tyler, also an actor hired by us, to play the part. Unlike Kevin, Tyler was clean shaven, and wore khaki pants with a navy blazer.

According to our expert, most child predators appear clean-cut. So, would appearance make a difference? Would people be less likely to intervene if the stranger looked like your everyday playground dad?

In our first scene with our clean-cut actor, a young dad immediately noticed Tyler. As he talked with Katie, "Yeah, maybe we can do a quick lap around the playground, just take a quick look."

At first, it looked as if the young dad was ready to say something. But as Katie and Tyler headed off the playground, he remained silent. He stopped swinging his son and started to go after Tyler. But as he approached them, he veered off in a new direction, allowing Tyler and Katie to walk off into the distance.

A Grandfather's Response

Ted Horne, who was spending time at the park with his grandson, spotted Tyler right away. As soon as he saw Katie get off the swing, he made his move. He tucked his grandson under his arm and ran after Tyler and Katie as they headed to the parking lot.

He approached our actors and asked if they knew each other. Tyler told Horne she was a nice girl and she was going to help him find his puppy.

Horne said, "I see. Perhaps we should call 911, let them sort it out."

Tyler left the scene and Horne escorted Katie back to the playground. She asked him what he thought she should have done.

"I think that was a bad man," Horne replied. "You should have said no, he was a stranger."

Over the course of our two-day experiment, three people out of 14 let the "strangers" walk off with little Katie. Those who intervened said they were concerned for and protective of the child, and that it was necessary for people to look out for one another.