'Fighting Chance' helps children protect themselves

Fifth-graders can concoct lots of "what ifs" when presented with the following scenario:

You're walking home from school and a car pulls up along side, offering you a ride. Maybe you know the driver, maybe you don't. What should you do?

It's the job of Douglas County Sheriff's Office youth services deputies Chris Griffith and Teresa Duffy to teach the children how to think on their feet, literally.

By the end of the year, the deputies will have taught "A Fighting Chance" to 1,000 fifth- and sixth-graders in the school district.

On May 13, they were instructing fifth-graders at Gardnerville Elementary School.

The hour-long class begins with a video featuring the mother of 10-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard who disappeared from her Lake Tahoe home on June 10, 1991, and was never seen again.

It's a sobering story for the children not born when she disappeared, but the same age now to think such an incident happened near where they live.

"She was only 300 feet from her home, when somebody grabbed her. Her father came running out, but a couple had pulled her into their car and Jaycee Lee was never found," Duffy said.

"As parents, we like to think we can protect you all the time, but we need your help," Duffy said.

The children were taught that when they're in vulnerable situations, politeness goes out the window.

"You can hit and scream. You can bite and scratch," Duffy said. "If you can find the wires, disconnect the headlights. Make noise. You can be smarter than the person who tries to kidnap you."

She urged the children not to walk or ride their bicycles alone.

"If you're alone, you're an easy target," she said. "Am I going to mess with three or four guys? No."

Other tips included walking on the sidewalk at least an arm's length away from the street to make it more difficult to be grabbed.

"Don't let them get you into the car," Griffith said. "You better be fighting for your life not to get in the car."

Every child raised a hand when asked "who wants to go home tonight?"

"You never give up," he said. "If Plan A doesn't work, try Plan B. I don't care if you go through the whole alphabet. Start over again."

The deputies assigned the children to discuss the program at home and come up with a family password to be used in emergencies.

"This is not a TV series, this is real life," Griffith said. "The best time to get away is right away."

He said the goal of the class is to build mental toughness in the children so they can protect themselves.

"We're not trying to scare you," Duffy said. "We're giving you a reality check."

Ten-year-old Samuel Nanse said after the class he wanted to know what to do if he ever found himself in trouble.

"It kind of makes you feel scared to think about, but they taught us something to do when a stranger is around," he said.

"It taught us how to get out of a big problem," said Holly Brown, 11.

The program is funded by Soroptimist International of Carson Valley.