A woman on TikTok shared a terrifying incident that occurred when she was flying as an unaccompanied minor at age 11, launching a heated discussion about child safety in the comments.
TikToker @taylormakesvideos took to the platform to share the harrowing story, recalling how a 40-year-old man seated next to her on the flight asked questions that turned out to be more than just friendly fellow passenger small talk.
The creator began the video, which has been viewed more than 1.5 million times now:
“Put a finger down if when you were 11 years old, you got sat next to a 40-year-old man on a flight as an unaccompanied minor.”
She continued, explaining that her family was building a new house at the time and were allowing her to have some input on designing her bedroom, so she recorded her ideas in a notebook.
“As you’re sketching in your little notebook...this grown man next to you starts asking you about it. And you’re 11, so you don’t think anything of it."
"He starts asking where the house is going to be and where you go to school.”
At the time, the TikToker thought, “Oh, this adult is being nice to me.”
But that was not the case.
The plane landed, the TikToker was reunited with her mother, summer was soon over and she started back to school.
She then said that "ordinarily" she took the bus home from school.
"But one day, your mom picks you up early telling you she doesn't want you walking to the bus anymore."
@taylormakesvideos thought that at first she was in trouble for some reason.
"... but when you get in the car, she starts asking you a bunch of questions about who you sat next to on your flight home."
"Because as it turns out, the 40-year-old man sitting next to you, who thank god didn't have your new address, started sending weird, creepy letters to the only place he knew that you'd be because he asked where you went to school, telling you that he enjoys imagining what your new room is gonna look like and that he'd love to stay in touch and be friends and come see it when it's done?!"
"Or if he could pick you up from school sometime!"
She finished:
"And obviously the school did not pass these letters along to you. They gave them straight to your parents, and then you had to go give a statement to get a restraining order before you'd even hit puberty."
You can watch below.
The TikToker captioned her post:
"I hate this story but I think it’s important for parents to know how BOLD and PERSISTENT these low-lifes can be."
"The standard 'don’t go off with strangers' talk is NOT good enough anymore."
"Have bigger talks about awareness, sharing information, and real world consequences with your kids, ESPECIALLY if they are traveling alone."
And people in the comments agreed.
@taylormakesvideos/TikTok
@taylormakesvideos/TikTok
@taylormakesvideos/TikTok
@taylormakesvideos/TikTok
Others could not believe the man actually sent letters to the school.
@taylormakesvideos/TikTok
@taylormakesvideos/TikTok
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@taylormakesvideos/TikTok
@taylormakesvideos/TikTok
@taylormakesvideos/TikTok
@taylormakesvideos/TikTok
We hate that this happened, but we're glad @taylormakesvideos is talking about her experience and spreading awareness.
