As parents, it is important to keep up with what our kids are doing, especially when it comes to their use of phones. One mom took to social media to warn parents about a disturbing phone call she got from a random number. The call seemed to come from a child she didn't know, and the whole situation left her deeply unsettled.
The mom felt it was her duty to share her terrifying experience as a lesson for other parents, either so they could be aware of these kinds of calls, but also so that they will keep an eye on their kids and keep this from happening to someone else.
More from CafeMom: Shocking Video Shows the Moment a Man Tries To Abduct a 4-Year-Old at a Florida CVS
The mom detailed her harrowing story on TikTok.
Mom Kayla, who goes by the TikTok handle @mama_mess_express, shared the story in an eight-minute video on the platform.
"This is a PSA to anyone who has a child with a phone," she began, calling the interaction "the scariest thing I've ever experienced." She then goes on to explain that she is redacting a lot of information in the story.
To set context for the story, she explains that she runs a bakery in Southern Maryland, and is a mom of four. She then goes on to say that late in the evening, she got a phone call from a phone number in Chicago. While she doesn't normally answer calls from unknown numbers "for some unknown reason," she chose to answer the call.
The person on the other end of the call surprised her.
Kayla explained that the caller was clearly a child, and they said they had found her number on her business's Facebook page.
"She said that she wanted a Lilo and Stitch birthday cake," the woman said, adding that the child gave her birth date. She said that she could make such a cake, but would need to talk to a grownup to confirm the order.
"This is where things started to get weird," the woman warned.
The young girl said her mom was "in the store" and that she didn't know where her mom was. The girl then said she was "stuck in the car with her mom’s friend who took some medicine and was sleeping." Kayla told the young girl that she would stay on the phone with her until her mom got back in the car to talk about the birthday cake.
Things continued to be concerning as the call went on.
The woman made "small talk" with the child for a bit before asking where the young girl was located so that she could possibly make the girl a cake. That's when the girl revealed that she lived in Chicago.
"I said, 'Oh, honey, I’m not sure if I can make you a cake,'" she shared. "'I’m like really far away from you.'" This didn't stop the conversation from continuing, and the girl told the woman that she would be turning 8 on her upcoming birthday.
Eventually, the girl ended the call, but soon called back, telling Kayla that she was hungry and wanted to go into the store for a snack. The woman warned the girl to stay in the car and call 911 if she felt unsafe. Despite the warning, the girl decided to go into the store and ended the call.
More from CafeMom: Super Mom Fights Off Teen Daughter's Would-Be Kidnapper in Wild Video
The woman was convinced that she was the victim of a scam and began calling law enforcement for help.
Kayla reached out to her local sheriff's department for guidance about what to do. They told her that they weren't able to do much and advised her to reach out to Chicago law enforcement for help.
Not long after that call, she received yet another call from the girl. She was now home, but she claimed that her mom had "friends" over and it was loud, so she was hiding in her room. Kayla again asked to talk to the mom, but the girl said she was "sleeping." So Kayla "went into mom mode," trying to get more information from the girl to contact the police. As 7-year-olds are known to do, the child gave Kayla the answers to the questions she asked. The little girl continued to hang up and call Kayla back.
"I think there was a total of 15 phone calls back and forth between 8:15 last night and 10:30," Kayla said, sharing that one of the phone calls consisted of nothing but adults yelling in the background.
"At this point, I’m about to throw up," she said.
Kayla did everything she could to help.
Though she was still unsure if she was being scammed, Kayla knew that she had to see it through in case there was in fact a child actually in danger. She agreed to FaceTime with the girl, and got her name, address, and other necessary details to be able to send help to her.
The following morning, she got to work trying to find out how to get help. Even if she couldn't get a wellness check performed on the girl, she wanted the child, and the child's parents to know that she talked to a stranger and gave all of her information out. After reaching out to the girl's school to no avail, she "filed a full report" with the local Department of Children and Family Services office.
"Please, please, please, talk to your kids. Check their phones," Kayla pleaded. "This world is so scary, and that was so scary, and it's not sitting well with me whatsoever."
She did share a follow-up.
After the first video went viral, Kayla shared an update, saying that she had reached out to police during the events the night before but they were unable to do much at first. She then shared that DCFS had reached back out to her to verify the information on the report, but that they would "unlikely" be able to give her updates. She then revealed that she was able to find more information about the girl by tracing the phone number, and that they were able to give more information to the authorities.
"I don't know if I have any rights to information," Kayla admitted, speaking on what happened after a welfare check was made on the child.
In another follow-up, Kayla admitted that she had to be intentionally "vague" about what she could share, but that she had done all she could to make sure the girl was safe. She clearly looked worse for the wear as the ordeal had continued.
If you suspect child abuse, you can call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-Child), or go to Childhelp.org. The hotline is available 24/7.
