A British family on holiday in Majorca this week very nearly suffered the kind of ordeal that no parents would ever expect or have to go through.
Mother Blaise Deacon took to Facebook to post a brief breakdown of what happened to her family and to warn other holidaymakers coming to the island to be aware and vigilant, especially when keeping an eye on their young children. The response on Facebook was significant and yesterday Blaise, who was on holiday with her baby daughter Darcie, her partner and sister Kealy with her children told the Bulletin the full story. Blaise, from Biggin Hill, returns home early this morning and they have tried to make the best of what could have been a nightmare holiday.
"It was our second night on the island when we had the worst thing happen to us - our 23-month-old daughter was nearly snatched from us! It was 11pm and we were all in the animation area enjoying the entertainment. Darcie was on my partner’s knee when he had to go to the bathroom. Darcie was passed over to me but started crying. She is a very clingy baby and wanted her dad. So she sat in my lap crying for him.
"Then, all of a sudden, I saw this woman with very dark skin and blonde hair approaching over my left shoulder. The lady put her arms around her telling us that she was taking her! Initially I thought she had come to help calm little Darcie down.
"But I held on tight as my sister told her ‘no!!!’ and when the women realised she wasn’t getting her - she took off running. I tried to leave Darcie with Kealy but she wouldn’t stop crying, so I clutched her to my hip and set off after her and was soon joined by my partner who wondered what the hell was going on when he reappeared.
"The woman was obviously not staying at the hotel and I wanted to warn other parents should she approach any other young families. However, she fled the hotel and leapt into a car waiting outside and sped off.
"I’m not blaming the hotel, it wasn’t their fault. However, the staff could have been much more considerate. They were more concerned about protecting their reputation than our well-being. They refused to call the police, playing the matter down while we were all crying and wondering what if. Eventually I found the emergency number online and the police were on the scene within 15 minutes, but by now it was 2am.
"The police were excellent and even came up to our room to check on Darcie; that she was OK. She was, she’s too young to have realised what very nearly happened, but we certainly weren’t. The following day the police returned, spoke to staff, stressing the seriousness of the matter and went through CCTV footage with us. From what we understand, they have a match of the suspect and are now looking for her.
"We didn’t change hotels because, with the police involved, we felt safer. But I turned to Facebook to warn people coming out or already on holiday here to keep a close eye on their young kids. Some people have posted notes questioning what we were doing up at 11pm with a 23-month old, but we were on holiday and we felt safe in the hotel. Once the police had got involved and been so helpful, and supportive, we decided to remain at the hotel and make the best of what was left our holiday."