You would expect a trip to the zoo would be a fun adventure to go on a nice day. Would you suspect a kidnapping to happen at a zoo? It was supposed to be a nice day to go see monkeys, zebras, polar bears, and exotic birds on June 23. At the San Diego Zoo in San Diego, California a kidnapping had taken place in the zoo. The zoo was very beautiful with all the unusual animals and colors that made the zoo more welcoming to the visitors. The zoo was open from 8:00 a.m. in the morning till 5:00 p.m. This zoo in particular has fun bright colors that encourage people to come back and enjoy the zoo.

There was a single woman named Martha Lindquist. She was 40 years old caucasian with blonde hair. Her daughter was named Penny; she is 7 years old who also has blonde hair. Martha and Penny lived in a nice home that she received from the divorce settlement with her husband. The color of the house was dark chocolate brown, with wood floors, stainless steel appliances, and granite countertops. Martha divorced John 4 years ago because he cheated on her with Martha’s High School best friend. Lucy was also caucasian with blonde hair exactly like Martha. Martha knew that her husband at that time bef worked at a zoo, but not exactly sure what zoo he worked at. It started out as a nice spring day in May as Martha and Penny woke up to the sun rising.

“Mommy, can we do a fun activity today?” hinted Penny.

“Sure, what would you want to do today?” answered Martha.

“Let’s go to the zoo and see all the animals and play with them,”cheered Penny.

“Okay, but shall we eat some Fruit Loops and Cheerios,”giggled Martha.

After Martha and Penny ate their breakfast they packed up Penny’s inhaler and a change of clothes for the both of them in a backpack and buckled up in their white Toyota Camry. After an hour drive,they made it to the San Diego Zoo with plenty of time to go see all the unique animals and gift shops that the zoo has to offer.

“What area of the zoo should we look at first?” asked Martha.

“Let's go see the giraffes first:; they are my favorite animal in the zoo,” chuckled Penny.

“Okay we’ll go see the giraffes,”said Martha.

Martha and Penny made their way to the area where the giraffes were and Penny was able to feed and pet a baby giraffe. Martha was looking at the ground to fix her black flip flop that slipped off her foot. Martha looked beside her and sees that Penny is not next to her.

“Penny, Penny where are you?” yelled Martha.

“I am right here mommy!”answered Penny.

“Penny, you need to stay next to me because it is very easy to get lost in a zoo this size,” explained Martha.

Penny and Martha continue their way to the other areas of the zoo to see the exotic birds, elephants, zebras, hippos, tigers, and many other animals.

“Penny are you getting hungry?” asked Martha.

“Yes, I want to go eat some food at the restaurant,” answered Penny.

“Which one?” said Martha.
“You choose,” answered Penny.
“Let’s go to the Zebra Grill,”said Martha.

“Okay!” answered Penny.

After they finished eating at the Zebra Grill they go to the dolphin show. Martha and Penny get front row seats to see the show and experience what the dolphins do up close and personal. The announcer of the show looks through the audience and picks Penny to help her out in the show. Penny is given a fish to feed to the dolphin and she is taught to say a special word for the dolphin to come and eat the fish. Penny is now given a beach ball to throw at the dolphin and the dolphin hits the ball back with its pointy nose. The last task that Penny has to do is to have the dolphin wave good bye to the audience. Penny tells the dolphin a command and the crowd goes wild while the announcer ends the show. Martha looks around for Penny but doesn’t find her.

Martha asks the announcer,”Where she has gone?”

The announcer said, “ The zookeeper that is in charge of the dolphins was telling Penny something, but I told her to go back to her mom in the stands.”

Martha looks throughout the crowd searching for her daughter in fear that she is missing. After looking through the crowd and not seeing her she runs ups to the announcer.

“Where did Penny go?” sobbed Martha.

The announcer replied, “I really don’t know where your daughter is, but I will have the zoo in a complete lockdown to ensure no one will leave the zoo.”

“I appreciate your help to find her,” sniffed Martha.

Matha is very concerned that her daughter is missing. She is very worried because her daughter needs her inhaler every hour so she will be able to breathe normally.

“Can you tell me what she is wearing today?” asked the announcer.

“ I have a picture of what she looks like and she was wearing blue jean shorts, a purple flower tank top, and black flip flops ”stuttered Martha.

The announcer gives the information to the head of security and they start a search for her in the zoo. The head of security calls the San Diego Police Department to have a few officers come help search for the girl because she will have a tough time breathing without her inhaler. The chief of police arrives as soon as possible and starts talking to Martha for more information about Penny.

“Do you know anyone that would want to hurt you and your daughter?” asked the police officer.

“My ex-husband named John Lindquist would be the only person that would be a target because I filed for a divorce because he was abusing Penny and I ; he also cheated on me with my best friend Lucy from high school,” explained Martha. John was 5’11 inches and weighs 180 pounds. He had a dragon tattoo going down his right arm all the way down to his wrist.

“Do you know if he works at this zoo,or if he is here today?” questioned the officer.

“I really don’t know if he works here, but he told me that he works at a zoo in the area,” replied Martha.

The officer responded,“I will talk to the manager of the zoo to see the most recent list of employees immediately.”

Martha waits for 5 minutes for the police officer to come back and give her more information about Penny. She hopes that Penny is found within the hour or she will need to be rushed to the emergency room. Martha sits on the bench trying to remember any information that her ex-husband had told her about his job. The police officer is running to tell her what he has found about her ex-husband.
“I found out that he works at this zoo and that he is working today at this moment.” stated the police officer.
“What area of the zoo does he work in?” inquired Matha.

“He actually works with the seals and the dolphins,”responded the officer.

“Was he helping out with the dolphin show today?” screamed Martha.

The officer responded, “Yes, he was scheduled to help out with the show.”

Martha and the officer go over to the dolphin area to go see if he is there with Penny. Martha is hoping in her mind that he is in the area of the dolphins. She has many fears of what he could possibly do with all this time in searching for her. They arrive at the dolphin area and the officer asks if a male and a 7 year old blonde girl were here. Martha glances over at the table a spots Penny’s animal print hair ribbon. Martha shows the officer the hair ribbon and tells him that this came from her hair. Martha looks up at the analog clock and sees that Penny needs her inhaler in 20 minutes.

Martha pleads,“Where could she be; I am getting very concerned about her?”

“Let’s go look at the security cameras and see if we see anything suspicious,” said the officer.

Martha and the officer look at the footage from the security cameras and notice a black flip flop sitting on the floor that could belong to Penny where the food for the pandas is stored. They head over to the panda area and talk to the manager of the pandas. “Has there been an older man and a little girl here within the last ten minutes?” asked the officer.

The panda manager explained,” I heard a man telling a little girl that they are going to the gift shop to buy her a present.” The little girl was saying that she needed her inhaler in 5 minutes,but he didn't care.

Martha and the officer run to the gift shop to hopefully find the little girl. The officer tells Martha to wait outside because he will recognize you and not me. The officer casually walks around the store to look for the little girl. The officer spots the little girl, but can’t make any sudden moves. He walks over to the cashier and tells her to not let anyone leave until I tell you it is okay.

The officer leave the gift shop and tells Martha that he has found Penny, but he needs to call for the other officers in the zoo for backup.
“ I have found Penny and let me radio more officers to come here and get him arrested,”explained the officer.
“Get her back without any harm,” stuttered Martha.

The other officers arrive and prepare to end this once and for all. The chief walks in first to get Penny away from her father. The officer brings her back to her mom. After Penny is back with her mother the other officer tells Martha that she is having difficulty breathing and I will call an ambulance to bring to the hospital. The officer goes into the gift shop and puts the man in handcuffs and bring him out of the gift shop.

The chief officer asks,” Why did you kidnap this little girl; she has a breathing condition and needs her inhaler every hour to breathe normally.”

John explains,”I didn’t know that she had a breathing condition; she was telling me that she needed an inhaler soon, but I ignored her.”
Martha asks him, “She is your daughter you should know if she has a medical condition. She was diagnosed with it before we got divorced.”
Penny is being sent to the hospital to make sure that she is okay. Martha rides in the ambulance with Penny, so she doesn't have to see John. John is put in a police car and sent to jail. Penny is released from the hospital after receiving breathing treatments for her condition. Penny is a happy little girl living a happy life, but her breathing condition is under control.