More than ten years ago, a 12-year-old boy in France faked his own kidnapping to avoid a dentist appointment, appearing in a town 100 miles from his own after claiming to have escaped his captors and sending police into a month-long search for his kidnappers.
The boy was reportedly terrified of the dentist.
To his credit, the boy described his abductor with great detail:
A short, muscular European man in his mid 30s, clad in a black shirt and light jeans with a vertical scar on his right cheek.
Specificity makes stories sound real. This boy was clearly ahead of the curve.
Obviously, faking your own kidnapping is not a good thing. The boy wasted hundreds of man-hours and thousands of dollars on a wild goose chase.
He scared the hell out of his parents.
He risked others’ safety by diverting law enforcement’s time and attention to something ultimately meaningless.
Also, it’s important to visit the dentist regularly and care for your teeth and gums.
Still, I loved this kid so much. The guts, the creativity, and the sheer audacity required to fake your own kidnapping at the age of 12 were and are astounding.
That boy was my hero.
A decade later, I can’t help but wonder:
Where is this 23-year-old man today?
What is he doing?
How has his life turned out so far?
French privacy laws related to minors kept the boy’s name out of the press, so I have no way of finding out who he is or what he’s doing today, but I wish I could.
I suspect he’s doing something remarkable.
Audacity, intellect, and inventiveness are a powerful combination, often leading to great things.
