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Hey everybody, welcome back to the podcast. This is Murder With My Husband. I'm Peyton Moreland. And I'm Garrett Moreland. And he's the husband. And I'm the husband. Welcome to another Dear Daisy episode. We didn't actually get to do it last month, but here we are, baby. We skipped it last month because of everything going on with the live show, but here we are. Another week, another Dear Daisy, and Daisy is currently sleeping on Peyton's lap.
She's excited to dream about these subconsciously as they float through the air. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Okay, I thought this one would be a good one because surprise, Garrett and I are actually going on a little trip for my birthday. And so the title of this one is I almost got kidnapped in the Mexico City airport. Oh my gosh.
I'm going to Mexico. And it's by Angelica. First off, I want to tell you guys how much I love your show and Peyton, how awesome you are for doing all the research and having so many facts about what goes in each case. Garrett, I love how you always ask questions I'm literally thinking of while listening. I love you guys.
I almost got taken in the Mexico City airport. You would think because it's an airport, it would be safe, but unfortunately, it wasn't. From the time I was 15, I would go visit my grandma during winter and summer vacation. My parents always wanted me to be very close to my roots, and of course, being from a small town in Mexico, my grandma didn't like flying. So when I was 17, my mom and dad finally trusted me enough to get on the plane and get to my destination safely by myself.
This meant I didn't need a stewardess to help me through the airport, sit next to me, or be right there my entire trip until I got to my destination and met up with my grandparents. In my
In my sophomore year of high school for winter vacation, my mom and dad finally decided to let me go alone. We went to the airport, checked in, and did everything I needed to do to get on my plane. When we were at the window, they let us know that I unfortunately didn't purchase a direct flight from LAX to Oaxaca, a state in Mexico, but that I had purchased a flight that had a connection in Mexico City. And since we were already there, there was no way of changing the flights or waiting for another flight because my grandpa had already made plans to pick me up that night.
My parents reluctantly had to go ahead and let me go. Of course, me thinking I'm old enough to do this, I was very confident and convinced my mom and my dad that I could do this on my own and that I knew how to get through the Mexico airport safely.
My parents finally said yes and reluctantly let me go. Of course, my mom and dad told me, when you're there in Mexico City, be careful. I know you are going to handle yourself very well, but don't give out any information, don't talk to anybody, and always be on alert until you get back on your second flight. Being a very big fan of Criminal Minds and the movie Taken, I knew that I needed to be very careful once landing.
So off I went. My flight from LAX to Mexico was a really quick three hours and I was there. To explain, being an American coming into Mexico, you do need to go through what they consider their TSA. It's a really long line to get to the other side of the airport and get to your connecting flight. And as I was waiting in line, there was a couple behind me who were Americans.
They had blonde hair and blue eyes and they couldn't figure out how to get to and from their flight to the connecting flight. So I, of course, popped in and told them, hey, you need to stay in line, go through here and get to the other side before you get to your connecting flight. And the lady, of course, was like, yeah, thank you. At least someone helped us.
So as I passed TSA, I walked on over and was at the big screen looking for my gate, trying to get to my flight when a really cute guy who must have been maybe early 20s, maybe 18 or 19, came up to me and was like, are you lost? And I told him, no, I'm just looking for my connecting flight. And of course, smitten and thinking, wow, this guy is really cute. We kept talking and he started asking me weird questions like, are you going to visit your family? Are you with your parents? Where are you going? What time is your flight?
So of course, remembering what my mom and dad told me, I kept dodging all these questions, just saying, yeah, my mom and dad went to the bathroom. Yeah, I'm going to meet them right now. Oh, I have a flight going to Puerto Vallarta. I just kept trying to get him off my tail. As I walked away, I was looking for a Starbucks and I noticed he kept walking behind me.
After finding a Starbucks, I went in and ordered, but then I noticed he was standing over by some chairs just watching me. Man, there's so many freaking weird people, man. And that's when I noticed that he didn't even have any carry-on luggage. He didn't have a backpack. He pretty much had a sweatshirt and jeans on and was texting or talking to somebody over his cell phone. Okay. Okay.
100%. Good idea. Yeah.
No. So remember that Starbucks I had bought? Well, it made me want to go to the bathroom and was still half hour left for me to board. I had to go look for one. Nope, I'd be peeing in a bag. As I walked towards the bathroom, I was looking around making sure that the guy wasn't anywhere near me and that I completely lost him and was being very aware of my surroundings. There were no signs of him, so I knew I was in the clear. I found the bathroom, walked in, and in Mexico's airports, the stalls are those type of stalls that are completely closed from the bottom all the way to the top. Like literally just a big door. Yeah, I know what you're talking about.
You can't peek over the top, peek under the bottom. And your feet aren't dangling for everyone to see. Yeah. So I get into my stall, I do my business, and I get out. As I'm washing my hands, the same lady that I was talking to who was lost comes out of another stall. And I smile at her and dry my hands and go. As I got out of the bathroom, across from me, there were some seats for the waiting passengers. As I looked at the second row, I saw the same guy again. I immediately just started walking towards my gate, but then I had a thought.
If I walked towards my gate, he would know where I was going. And what if somehow finds a way to get to me or do something once I land? So I started walking in the opposite way of my gate. And as I was walking, I could see him getting up and getting on his phone again. And as I turned around, I saw him behind me. I walked a little faster trying to lose him. But as I turned to go to a little hallway that connected to some escalators, I saw him again. I got on the escalator and saw him going up the escalator, getting closer and closer. Once he reached me, he asked, hey, I thought you were meeting your parents.
So I hesitantly told him, yeah, I am. I'm just a little lost. He said, then, well, where's your gate? I can probably help you get there. It was at this point we had reached the top of the escalator and we were just standing there. And I told him, no, it's OK. I'll look for it myself because my mom is already mad at me. So I have to go there soon. As I said that, he put his hand onto my carry on luggage and told me, no, I'll help you get there.
So at this point, I was literally scared, thinking this man is going to get his friends or whoever he's on the phone with and take me, and my parents will never know. But remember that couple, the lady I had seen in the bathroom? Well, she found it very odd that I was walking away so quickly coming out of the bathroom and that a man was following me.
So that's when I looked down at the bottom of the escalator and she was there coming up with her husband. She stopped at the top of the escalator and looked at me and said, hey, honey, we've been looking for you everywhere. Your mom and dad asked us to come look for you. No freaking way. As soon as she said that, I quickly replied, hey, yeah, let's go. The guy then let go of my luggage and started walking away smiling and saying, oh, sorry, wrong person. Oh, man, I would have chased.
Oh, no way. Right after this, the couple asked me if I was okay, if I needed help. I explained to them everything that had been going on. They offered to take me to my gate since their flight wasn't leaving for another two hours. Off we went. Never saw the man again till this day. I'm very happy that 17-year-old me decided to help a couple who was lost because at the end of the day, they ended up saving me from heaven knows what. I wonder what that couple thought. As I spoke to the couple on my way to the gate, the woman explained to me she was a cop
was a cop and could just tell by my demeanor, the way I was walking away from the bathroom, that I was in need of help.
So that's why she decided to head toward me and make sure I was okay. As we waited at my gate, I thanked them over and over until I boarded. And that is a long story of how I almost got taken. Now, sometimes being a kind person and lending a hand can help you. Till this day, I remember Chelsea and Hunter from Colorado and wish I'd had Facebook at the time to know how it went with their little baby girl. Once again, love you guys. And I always keep in mind the strangey-dangey. Angelica, the lover of true crime. That's insane. I...
It's weird to me how many people are in these situations. And it's like we just have our little pool of listeners, little community and this many people. This is, I don't know. That's scary. That's scary. That is so scary. Especially because you're in another country, like who's going to believe you. Yeah. This next one is called Strangey Dangy Vibes in Paris. It's by Anonymous. I'm liking these ones. Different countries are going on.
Hi, Peyton and Garrett. First off, I love your guys' podcast. I started listening to you guys earlier this year after I was run over by a car. While I'm healing super well, the only exercise I'm allowed to do is walks in my neighborhood. Were you hit by a car? Yes. Therefore, I have been binging all of your episodes during my daily five-mile walks, and it actually makes me really, really look forward to exercising now.
Anyways, to the story. I was really hesitant to share this story as I didn't feel like it was a huge true crime moment, but after listening to the most recent Dear Daisy episode, I thought it would be something you're interested in. In college, I studied and received a bachelor's degree in French. Part of my degree requirement was to spend four months in Normandy, France while living with a French family and going to school there.
So in the fall of 2017, when I was 20 years old, I did just that. A lot of the people in my exchange group were so sweet, but not interested in traveling much outside of Normandy. So at one point I decided I was going to travel and spend a weekend in Paris on my own. I know that probably sounds crazy, but being a lifelong true crime kid, I've always felt like I take lots of extra precautions. The whole weekend I sent messages to my parents every time I was headed to a new location. So my last known whereabouts would be known. The
The weekend was going really well until I was in the metro trying to find the platform to take me to a section of Paris called La Defense where there was a Christmas market going on. I got confused when I came to a dead end that split off left and right on the metro and wasn't sure which way to turn. So I just sat there and paused for a second. That was when a man came up behind me and asked me in French if I needed help finding where I was going. I asked him if he knew which direction it was to go towards the platform I was looking for and he said,
Oh, I'm headed there too. Just follow me. It's just crazy how many people just do that. Because I would follow. Well, yeah. So I guess what I mean by that, to correct myself, it's crazy how many...
people actually do that to help people and then people actually do that they're going to take people i know that's why i mean like how do you decipher the difference between someone's going to help you or not now part of me was very wary but part of me thought i was being crazy for feeling that way as this was the opening weekend for this big christmas market so i thought there were probably lots of people going there yeah as we were walking he began asking me where i was from if i was good at french if i was traveling alone and he just gave me an overall vibe of being very creepy
We were in a metro station crowded with people though and I just kept saying the moment I see an exit I can just leave and go to a different station to be away from him. But pretty quickly we actually reached the platform and in big bright letters it said my platform's name and the word open next to it saying that the metro would be stopping there.
Now, I don't think this man realized how fluent in French I actually am due to me giving him only one word responses. So he turned around and said, oh, no, your platform stop is closed. You can't take the metro. At this point, the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up and I knew this man was really bad news. I responded with,
no it's open he then said no it's closed trust me but don't worry because i have a car we can just take on the street yeah let me just hop in your car and go with you i responded with no thank you i'm going to go on the metro and then i tried to walk away at this point the man grabbed my wrist hard and pulled me towards him and told me you need to come with me to my car now i'll take you where you want to go
At this point, I went into a full panic and started very loudly saying no and started speaking in only English, which frustrated him to no end as he couldn't understand me. He then yelled whatever at me, threw my arm down and called me a stupid American before walking away. Multiple people saw what happened and came to ask if I was okay after he left.
All I know is I really believe if I had gone with him, something bad would have very likely happened to me. Always, always trust your gut and don't feel obligated to accept help from someone if you're feeling uncomfortable. Is there that many people in the world that just will take people? Yeah, I think so. Like what is going on? I think especially like, I don't want to say trafficking, but like in ports or airports.
I think that it's probably a more popular like hot spot. It's hard for women too because look, majority of the time a man is stronger than you and can overpower you. And that's scary. Oh, it's terrifying. And I think sometimes like I've had that thought sometimes with you even like,
Like I haven't. No. No, I just like, I trust you a hundred percent and I'm, but it's so vulnerable of me. Yeah. Yeah. Like I get in bed with you every night and you could literally kill me. You could kill me. I know, but you're so much stronger than me. You are just a buff, strong man. So strong. I know what you're saying though. It's,
It's just weird that, I don't know, I guess there's no really fix to it, but it's pretty crazy. This one is called Barnes & Noble Strangey Dangey. Good old Barnes. Peyton loves Barnes. Let me tell you, if there's a Barnes & Noble in an airport, you're in double trouble. If you work for Barnes & Noble, my wife wants a sponsorship from you, so please reach out. I love a Barnes & Noble, especially with the Starbucks in there. Yep.
Okay, this one's from Katie. Dear Daisy, my name is Katie and I've been a listener from the start. I absolutely love y'all's podcast. You're the best. Moving on, I want to tell you about a time I almost got kidnapped. It's pretty weird, so here we go. All these are kidnappings. See, this is why I've got to ask for certain things because we got on this kidnapping trail, so now we need to think of the next one we want to ask for. Not that it's bad. We still want your stories. I still want your kidnapping stories. That's scary. I'm just saying that all these are kidnappings. These are all through Strangey Dangy.
So last year, my 13-year-old brother called me and asked if I could take him and his friends to Barnes & Noble to see if they had their favorite anime. I thought to myself, this is great that they want to do more than just play video games. I told my mom I would play the big sister role and definitely take them and get them lunch. Fast forward, we're having a great time. We get to Barnes & Noble. The boys are excited. And I told them I'd be in the romance section and to check in every few minutes to make sure I knew they were okay.
When we walked through the front doors, I held the door for the man following behind us. Being a huge true crime junkie, I'm hyper aware of my surroundings.
He was an average man who thanked me for holding the door. I thought nothing of it. When we went inside, we went our separate ways. And after 10 minutes, I checked on the boys to find this man in the aisle they were in. Nothing wrong with that. Then I noticed he was not looking at any of the books on the shelves. He had his phone in his hand and was standing at the end of the book aisle, just watching the boys. My spidey senses started going off and I told the boys to move to the next section. The man proceeded to follow us to every aisle we went down. The boys
The boys found the books they wanted, so I asked them to follow me to the aisle I was going to. The man proceeded to follow us, and now I was freaking out because I had these kids with me that I was responsible for. I pretended not to notice while I got on my phone to text my uncle, who is a police officer. He told me to cause a scene in a public place, start yelling, and telling him to leave me alone. When the message popped up on the phone, the man reached over my shoulder, grazing the top to reach for a book, and I instantly grabbed the boys and headed for the front of the store since we were in the back and I no longer felt safe.
The man continued to follow us, no books in hand, and sat by the front door waiting for me to get out of the line, all while looking at me and talking on the phone. When we got to the register, I told the cashier to get their manager over here and informed them the man standing at the front door that I did not know was following me around the store and I was afraid to walk to my car by myself.
The manager told me there was nothing they could do. The manager said, sorry, there's nothing we can do because there's someone following you. Well, she's like, help me out to my car, which is total bull crap. And don't just ask again or ask for someone higher up. That's freaking weird. If some random person I don't even know came up to me and said someone's following me, I'd be like, whoa. What?
Let me help you. Yeah, let me help you. What can I do? So she says,
I called the police and the man got arrested for a warrant on sex trafficking. Oh my, you're freaking kidding me. I have yet to go back to a bookstore and just read on my Kindle now. Sorry for the long story, but you need all the details to understand. I really hope this gets on an episode because it was very real and very scary. Thank you so much. Love Katie from Ohio. She was definitely about to get trafficked. I feel like we need like everyone always in twos.
She was. She had her little brothers with her. Okay, but you know what I mean? Like, we need to, not that it's possible, but you can't, it's like almost like you can't go anywhere by yourself. No. That's, that's actually, that one's scary. He got arrested. Yeah, for a warrant on sex trafficking. She was, he was probably on the phone waiting for the van to pull up so he could push all three of them in there. Dude, I bet that older guy wanted just to beat the crap out of him. What a good older guy. And also that Barnes & Noble, you should have sued.
Okay. No, let's not be so happy. But the manager, it's got some issues. They're never going to sponsor me. Yeah. No, but that's not okay. No, it's not. Also, how long ago was it? Do you remember? It didn't say a year. I would hope things were different now. I know a lot of places are starting to get like human trafficking training and what we should do and look for. And if someone comes and helps to ask, like it's, it's a very real thing. Hospitals, airports. So yeah,
If you work somewhere or even if you don't work somewhere, keep your eyes open and always be on the lookout. All right, you guys, that is it for our Dear Daisy episode this month. And we will see you with our regular episode. I love it. I hate it. Goodbye.
