A mother's worst nightmare: Hanna Dean fought off the man trying to take her daughter

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- It's a parent's worst nightmare. Your kids are out playing in the yard when a stranger walks up and grabs one of them.

That's exactly what happened to a local mother last Friday in South Bend, and now she's speaking out as a caution to other families. 

"He grabbed her in a bear hug, like her arms are down to her side and he grabbed her, and he kept telling her, he's going to take her away."

Hanna Dean's home used to feel like a safe space for her four kids. "There hasn't been water in my kids' pool in almost a week. ...I'm numb. I'm hurt. I'm angry."

July 10 was a typical sunny summer day in South Bend, and Hanna's kids were in the yard playing with their friends, and the adults were nearby.

Hanna's kids know that their mom is never that far away, and that they should call out for mom when they need help, and that's exactly what her six-year-old daughter did when a stranger grabbed her while she was playing.

"That next scream is when I heard, 'Mommy,' and that's when it clicked to me that something was wrong. I took off towards her. That's when the physical encounter between him and I happened. I shoved him. I punched him. He stumbled; she moved.

That's when we grabbed her. We finally got him further enough away from my baby. He keeps screaming, walking to the edge of the alley starting to walk back down the alley taunting."

The police eventually got involved. The suspect was heard to threaten others and had been seen by witnesses attempting to break into cars and homes and once was even spotted hiding in the bushes before the police finally located him and took him back into custody.

The suspect in this case, Randy Boocher, has a long criminal history, and had only been out of jail for a few hours when this happened.

After the arrest, Hanna's daughter was safe, but the damage was done.

"My daughter's heart feels like it's going to beat out of her chest when she's outside. My baby just stood here and told me she doesn't want to stay here, 'Because what if he comes back, mommy?'"

"It has been a week since this man traumatized my child. And he needs to be held accountable for that."

She's now working to get her daughter into therapy, hoping that their home and yard will one day feel like a safe space to her again.

"As a parent, period, your biggest fear is always something happening to your kids. I would've never thought it would have happened to mine."

Randy Boocher is now facing several new charges including kidnapping. His initial hearing is set for July 27.

PROTECTING YOUR CHILDREN

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children states that these types of kidnappings- involving non-family members- are rare, making up about 1 percent of all cases, but they do happen.

So, what is the best way to talk to your kids about "stranger danger"?

When you talk with your child about staying safe, it helps to break adults into three simple categories:

• Strangers: People your child doesn’t know at all.
• Safe strangers: People your child doesn’t know well but can usually trust — like teachers, doctors, law enforcement or a parent’s friend.
• Tricky people: People who act in ways that make them unsafe — no matter how well your child knows them.

This method shifts the focus from the stranger danger idea of 'Do you know this person?' to 'Does this person deserve your trust?” So, the focus is on behaviors, not simply familiarity. Through this lens, that could mean people your child expected to trust can turn out to be the “bad guys.”

The Cleveland Clinic suggests teaching the Three Safety Steps.

If something feels wrong:

1. Say no

2. Get away

3. Tell a safe adult

Conversations like these should start at an early age, like two or three, and you should keep talking to your kids throughout their childhood, and well into their teens.

For more info, visit the website for Missing and Exploited Children and/or the Cleveland Clinic.