After tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to
grab a snack and get on-line. She logged on
under her screen name ByAngel213. She checked her Buddy List and saw GoTo123 was on. She sent him an instant message:
ByAngel213: Hi. I'm glad you are on! I
thought someone was following me home today..
It was really weird!
GoTo123:
You watch too much TV. Why would someone be
following you? Don't you live in a safe neighborhood?

ByAngel213:
Of course I do. I guess it was my imagination
cuz' I didn't see anybody when I looked out.

GoTo123: Unless you gave your name out on-line.
You haven't done that have you?
ByAngel213:
Of course not. I'm not stupid you know.

GoTo123:
Did you have a softball game after school today?

ByAngel213:
Yes and we won!!

GoTo123:
That's great! Who did you play?

ByAngel213:
We played the Hornets. . Their uniforms are so gross!
They look like bees.

GoTo123:
What is your team called?

ByAngel213
We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our
uniforms. They are really cool.

GoTo123:
Did you pitch?

ByAngel213:
No I play second base. I got to go. My homework has
to be done before my parents get home. I don't want them mad at me.
Bye!

GoTo123:
Catch you later. Bye

Meanwhile.......GoTo123 went to the member menu and
began to search for her profile. When it cameup, he highlighted it
and printed it out. He took out a pen and began to write down what he knew
about Angel so far.
Her name: Shannon
Birthday: Jan. 3, 1985
Age: 13
State where she lived: North Carolina
Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall.
Besides this information, he knew she lived in Canton because she had just
told him. He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m. every afternoon
until her parents came home from work. He knew she played softball on
Thursday afternoons on the school team, and the team was named the Canton
Cats.
Her favorite number 7 was printed on her jersey. He knew she was in the
eighth grade at the Canton Junior High School .
She had told him all this in the conversations
they had had on-line. He had enough information
to find her now.

Shannon didn't tell her parents about the incident on
the way home from the ballpark that day. She
didn't want them to make a scene and stop her
from walking home from the softball games.
Parents were always overreacting and hers were
the worst. It made her wish she was not an only
child. Maybe if she had brothers and sisters,
her parents wouldn't be so over protective.

By Thursday, Shannon had forgotten about the footsteps following
her.
Her game was in full swing when suddenly she felt someone staring at her.
It was then that the memory came back. She glanced up from her second base
position to see a man watching her closely.

He was leaning against the fence behind first base and he smiled when she
looked at him. He didn't look scary and she quickly
dismissed the sudden fear she had felt.

After the game, he sat on a bleacher while she talked
to the coach. She noticed his smile once again
as she walked past him. He nodded and she smiled
back. He noticed her name on the back of her shirt. He knew he had found
her.

Quietly, he walked a safe distance
behind her. It was only a few blocks to Shannon 's home, and once
he saw where she lived he quickly returned to the park to get his
car..

Now he had to wait. He decided to get a bite to eat until the time came to
go to Shannon 's house.... He drove to a fast food
restaurant and sat there until time to make his move.

Shannon was in her room later that evening when she
heard voices in the living room.

"Shannon, come here," her father called. He sounded
upset and she couldn't imagine why. She went into
the room to see the man from the ballpark sitting on the sofa.

"Sit down," her father began, "this man has just
told us a most interesting story about you."

Shannon sat back. How could he tell her parents anything? She had
never seen him before today!

"Do you know who I am, Shannon ?" the man asked.

"No," Shannon answered.

"I am a police officer and your online friend,

GoTo123."

Shannon was stunned. "That's impossible!
GoTo is a kid my age! He's 14. And he lives in Michigan !"

The man smiled. "I know I told you all that, but it wasn't
true. You see, Shannon , there are people on-line who pretend to be kids;
I was one of them. But while others do it to injure kids and hurt them, I
belong to a group of parents who do it to protect kids from predators. I
came here to find you to teach you how dangerous it is to talk to people
on-line. You told me enough about
yourself to make it easy for me to find you.
You named the school you went to, the name of your ball team and the
position you played. The number and name on your
jersey just made finding you a breeze."

Shannon was stunned. "You mean you don't
live in Michigan ?"

He laughed. "No, I live in Raleigh It made you feel safe to think I was so
far away, didn't it?"

She nodded.

"I had a friend whose daughter was like you. Only
she wasn't as lucky. The guy found her and murdered her while she was home
alone. Kids are taught not to tell anyone when they are alone, yet they do it
all the time on-line. The wrong people
trick you into giving out information a little
here and there on-line.. Before you know it, you have told them
enough for them to find you without even realizing you have done it.
I hope you've learned a lesson from this and won't do it
again. Tell others about this so they will be safe too?"

"It's a promise!"

That night Shannon and her Dad and Mom all knelt down together and thanked
God for protecting Shannon from what could have been a tragic situation.