Actually, I would've never thought to search car trunk for those boys

[Used and Abused]

I have virtually no contact with children at all. I guess I will need parenting classes before even thinking about having kids.

[hlthe2b]

1. Drilled in me, the danger of old vacant refrigerators, cars, etc.

Sadly, I wasn't there, because I do think those early parental lessons might have kicked in... Sad, so very sad...

[bobbieinok]

12. childhood friend and my younger brother discussed 'we nearly died'

this was while everyone was standing around after mom's funeral 4-2-05 (she was 92)

they said they almost hid in an old abandoned refrigerator except one of them remembered parent's warning

things to discover nearly 60 years 'too late'

[H2O Man]

19. Right.

And police should be as aware of this. Especially given the ages of those little guys, this should have been considered.

[minnesotaDFLer]

2. how sad was that

another kid drowned on a lake over in MN yesterday, we sat on our boat and watched them search for the body. still havent found him

[rpannier]

3. No you won't

The fact is almost no one would have thought to look in the trunk. The critics you're hearing are people who are always there to find fault in what others do when it doesn't work.
When you consider none of the family members of the boys gave that any thought it tells you something there -- They knew the boys best and they didn't see it as a possibility.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. The cops should have known to look in the trunk.

They are trained in searching for kids. They should have known. It blows my mind that they didn't look there.

[napi21]

9. Mmmm, I dunno. I know when one of my dogs or cats are missing

(inside the house!) I look EVERYWHERE!!! Kids are no different. I don't expect the parents to think of that, but I would expect the authorities should.

[Gelliebeans]

22. that is my feeling

in fact my husband said after the boys were missing, "I hope they looked everywhere including abandoned houses, trunks and closets.

We bought a VW a couple of years ago and it has an emergency trunk latch that we showed our kid how to get out of just in case.

My heart breaks for the parents and hindsight is 20/20 but I thought that the authorities would look in every nook and crevice to make sure that they had an actual abduction as opposed to a missing child. The parents were too wrought with worry to remember all the places that little ones can get into.

Again I am not blaming anyone here this is a terrible tragedy.

[Dan]

21. Sorry, I don't believe that

as a parent, when searching for a child (excluding abduction issues) think like a child. It would have been one of the first places that I would have looked.

At the same time, I don't fault the parents or searchers....

life, death....it happens

[napi21]

4. You and I may not have, but I'm shocked that the cops didn't!

That's their job! Now, I have no idea what the cops were told when they got there, so It's an unfair slam to them. I also have to think that by the time a child is 11, hewould be smart enough to get out of the trunk!

Kids of all ages love ti hide, and they'll try almost any place. I didn't see a pic of the car, but I guess it was an older one, because the newer ones have an emergency release...I know my 1999 does!

[Blue_In_AK]

6. The 11-year-old was developmentally slow...

...I read, which is why he was hanging out with the younger kids. This is a very, very sad case.

[Fridays Child]

8. Which makes me wonder if the boys were placed in the trunk...

...after they died.

[fryguy]

17. I think it was the parents responsibility

apparently one of the kids had a history of playing in cars and car trunks. it surprises me that they (the parents) wouldn't therefore check the car and trunk first or, at a minimum, mention the child's previous incidents of playing in trunks. not to mention the car was on the property, so it would seem reasonable that when the police arrived they wouldn't necessarily spend the time searching the immediate property and house, assuming instead that the parents would have done that before calling them.

now to be fair, had the parents mentioned that the boys played in trunks in the past and the police didn't search there in response i would be very concerned about the police's response.

[bicentennial_baby]

7. Guess no one saw the Punky Brewster episode

where Cheri gets locked inside an abandoned fridge...I was like 7 or 8 when that was on, and it left quite an impression.

[Used and Abused]

10. I've learned a very important lesson from this tragedy

And the refrigerator/freezer thing is Greek to me as well. At least I know now and maybe I can help save a life one day.

[CrispyQ]

11. Isn't the fridge problem only the old fridges

that had latches that could only be opened from outside? The new ones I think you could easily kick open. I wonder if that's part of the problem. When I was kid many, many years ago, we all had heard the warnings of not hiding in an abandoned fridge. I haven't heard that in ages, but then I don't have children.

I don't know that a child would correlate a fridge latching to a car trunk, but maybe they would have thought twice about hiding in something like that if the fridge warnings were more recent.

[bicentennial_baby]

13. I think they still take the doors off of them at the dump

I guess you never can be too careful...I don't have kids, but I babysat for about 12 years straight, for kids ages 6 months old to 12. Kids LOVE to hide in places, even if they aren't safe places. When a kid goes missing, always, always, look anywhere a kid could possibly fit into. They will surprise you.

[Fridays Child]

18. New refrigerators don't latch but, unless they're upright and stable...

...they could fall or shift in such a way as to wedge the door against another object. So, yes, the best course of action is to remove the door completely. Same thing goes for trunks, ovens, and any other disused items that children could close themselves into.

[WolverineDG]

14. They used to make a big production

out of taking doors off old & unused fridges & freezers before you threw them away. I remember ads & warning signs in appliance stores about that & many ads & reminders from parents, teachers, etc NOT to play in fridges or freezers.

dg

[spanone]

15. I think I would have....

When my two brothers and I were small, 5,7,9 we'd play in the car and we'd close each other up in the trunk. Stupid but kids tend to be that way. It is sooooo sad.

[fryguy]

16. except that one of them had a HISTORY of playing in car trunks

i would never permit a kid of mine to play in a trunk, but if i knew he/she had a habit or history of doing it and they went missing i would sure as hell check there just as i would have checked in closets, attic, etc.

[lastliberalintexas]

20. I don't know that I would have either

But law enforcement? Bleh. If *they* didn't think to look in the trunk of a vehicle which was apparently within sight of the boys' yard, then they need to go back to the academy.



Unfortunately, it might not have mattered anyway. People and pets can die within minutes if left in a vehicle on a hot summer day- and indeed, they do every year. Newer cars have releases, but the kids still need to understand that they are in danger once in the trunk. It's just one more danger that parents will hopefully teach their children about.

[OneBlueSky]

23. kid rule #13-P . . .

If it's big enough for a boy to fit into, he will undoubtedly try . . .