There are a few vital lessons to be learnt during the growing up process. Being wary of strangers is such a lesson, right up there with how to delete one’s browser internet history in terms of importance.

This family in Lincoln County, Missouri can’t be blamed for wanting to make sure their six-year-old wouldn’t go hopping into cars with strangers. Their execution of the idea, however, left much to be desired. The family enlisted the help of a local man, Nathan Firoved, to kidnap their child and scare the bejesus out of him.

The St. Louis Post carries this info:

Firoved waited for the boy to get off his bus after school, then lured the child into his pickup, police say.

While in the truck, Firoved, 23, told the boy he would never “see his mommy again,” and he would be “nailed to the wall of a shed,” police said.

Yeah, there are a few alarm bells going off here. With a family like this I am amazed the kid has made it to age six. But wait, there’s more:

Firoved bound the boy’s hands and feet with plastic bags and covered his face with an adult-sized jacket so he couldn’t see…

The child was kept confined in the basement for an undetermined time before he was untied and told to go upstairs. There his family lectured him about staying away from strangers.

I kind of get the feeling he faces more danger in the care of his family than he does were he to engage with strangers. Their mugshots, shown above, did kind of remind me of THIS.

The three family members have been taken into custody and are being charged with felony kidnapping, felonious restraint and abuse or neglect of a child. Firoved faces lesser charges for his involvement.

I imagine if they get stuck away in jail there might be some more binding and gagging going on…lesson learnt.

[source:stlouispost]