Boy credits parents’ teachings in thwarting abduction


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SALT LAKE CITY — A potential abduction at a public park earlier this week was avoided thanks to a child’s quick action. The 11-year-old boy at its center credits lessons from his parents in helping him get away.

With school out, Monday seemed like a perfect day for Addison Hopfensperger to have some summer fun at Salt Lake City's Poplar Grove Park, 800 S. Emery St.

“I ... come here by myself sometimes and just ride my bike around or just watch the games here,” Addison said of his neighborhood park.

But when he stopped to quench his thirst at a drinking fountain, he said a man “came and grabbed me firmly on the shoulder.”

Addison was afraid, but he didn't let that stop him from doing what he had learned.

“My first instinct was, ‘Oh, no! Someone is trying to kidnap me!’” the boy said. “I turned around and pushed him down and got on my bike and rode back (home).”

Addison credits his instinctive actions to lessons he learned at home.

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“My family, they taught me what to do whenever someone grabs me like that,” he said.

“They’ve got to have the instincts to know what exactly to do in these bad situations,” said Amanda Hopfensperger, Addison’s mother.

“If he didn’t do what he did, it could have been very different,” said the boy's father, Adam Hopfensperger. “I’m more proud of him than anyone in the world.”

The Hopfenspergers say all those conversations in the grocery store about “stranger danger” paid off. Now, Addison wants other children to know what to do if they are ever in the same scary situation.

“Immediately do anything — yell, scream, swear, kick, hit — whatever you can do to get away from them,” he said.

The man who allegedly grabbed Addison is described as white and bald, with a wrinkled face. Addison said the man is tall and skinny and was wearing a blue shirt and black shorts.

Anyone with information about this case can call the Salt Lake City Police Department at 801-799-3100.

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Nicole Vowell

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