Redditor LetsRead_YouTube was a single mom when she moved to Bradenton, Florida with her newborn. She worked at a daycare center, splitting her time between work and caring for the baby. The user named Jayme and her partner struggled to conceive.
Her baby Promyse, whom she considered a miracle baby, arrived after a long wait. Jayme was very excited about the birth of her only child. Just when everything seemed perfect, a horrible incident at Walmart pushed her to the extreme to protect her baby.
Jayme wanted to try baby food on her young child. She thought she would start with vegetables and went to Walmart. She took Promyse with her. She remembers:
«It was a Saturday morning. It was my babies first time eating vegetables! I was very excited. I ventured into my local Walmart.»
The mom was confident of her safety as there were police officers on duty patrolling the entire store. Promyse was sleeping in her infant car seat. Jayme slid her into the cart and carried her into the store.
First she does the essential shopping she needs. Jayme then goes to the baby aisle. She looks for different vegetables and decides to buy green beans without looking back to see if her baby is okay. She adds:
«I turned around to get 1 jar of green bean baby food, turned around to put them in the cart…my whole world fell apart. The whole cart was gone, including my little girl.»
Jayme started shaking. She dropped the jars and screamed. The other customers looked at her, but no one understood what had happened. The mom was shocked but knew she had to stay calm to find her daughter.
Jayme remembered the specific instructions she had learned at daycare and decided to use them to find her baby. She explains:
«I immediately ran to the front of the Walmart to the officer and told him that my child had been kidnapped and that we needed to put a lockdown in place. It just so happened that the Walmart manager was standing right behind me.»
All exits were locked, and no one was allowed in or out. Jayme cries uncontrollably, but answers the police officers’ questions. Camera technology in cell phones was not that popular at the time. However, Jayme showed authorities pictures of her baby from her purse.
Several staff and volunteers rushed to search for Promyse and traces of her belongings. Nearly an hour passed, and Jayme began to lose hope. She called out her daughter’s name. At that point, one of the officers suggested they look at the security footage to see if anyone had left the store with the baby. Jayme explained:
«I started the long descent to the front of the store. The officers were talking, but I couldn’t hear anything they were saying. We passed the women’s clothing area, and I heard my daughter crying.»
Jayme knew it was her baby. She asked the police to be quiet so she could hear Promyse crying. Everyone looked at her because the sound was faint. Jayme rushed to the source. She froze, staring at the baby stroller thrown under the clothes rack.
Jayme realized that the person who had taken her baby had tried to hide her in the locker. She quickly untied her and hugged her, collapsing into her lap. She was enraged and wanted to find out who had done this.
Fortunately, her baby was unharmed, except for a dirty diaper. Jayme sighed with relief and followed the authorities to the security office, where he was shown horrific CCTV footage.
Jayme saw a woman with two children pretending to shop in the baby aisle. One of the children was slowly pushing the cart in which Promyse was sleeping. Authorities searched the store for the woman and children. Since the establishment was closed, they were sure the three were hiding in the crowd. She added:
«After a while of searching through the crowd of people shopping that day, the little family was found…. At the time, she claimed her son stole the cart, and she was afraid she would be charged with the crime or that immigration would call on her.»
Jayme subsequently filed a complaint against the woman. A year later, it was discovered that the woman in her 20s was not the mother of the two children. She had abducted them and wanted to kidnap a baby. That’s when she spotted baby Promyse at Walmart. Jayme was horrified when other disturbing details were revealed.
The woman’s apartment was disgusting, and she was even convicted of several crimes in other states. She was sentenced to approximately 15 to 20 years in prison.
Jayme was relieved and, years later, shared her story on social media. After reading her post, one Redditor asked Jayme if she would tell her daughter about the incident. For her part, Redditor LondonFogAddict91 said:
«I’m so glad she’s okay and that she’s with you. Thank goodness you were able to shut the place down instead of watching. I’ll keep that in mind from now on.»
Jayme never took her daughter to Walmart again. She took a big step forward to protect her daughter, who is now a healthy teenager.
She thanked all the staff and volunteers who helped find her baby. Jayme’s distaste for the woman who took her baby never changed over the years, and she wished she never met her again.
