ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — An Avalon Park father felt compelled to do something when deputies said a child in the community was nearly taken off her bicycle and abducted three weeks ago.
The man who grabbed her is still out there, so Joe Canete bought more than 1,000 special whistles so the children can fight back.
The goal is to get one of the red whistles on the wrist of every child in the community.
The father of three feels the whistles, which can be heard from far distances, can keep Avalon Park children out of danger.
He and his daughter came up with the idea to buy a whistle for every child in their community when investigators said a man tried to snatch an 11-year-old girl off her bicycle at the beginning of the month.
The potential kidnapper is still out there.
Canete wants neighborhood children to be protected when parents aren’t around.
"It just gives them an extra line of defense against something that really, they shouldn't have to deal with,” he said.
He raised more than $1,000 on a GoFundMe page and bought 1,300 whistles, which he plans to pass out at a neighborhood movie event Friday night.
He hopes arming the community's children with the defense sends a clear message to kidnappers to stay away from Avalon Park.
"They're going to blow them. People are going to come out of their house. People are going to stop their cars and you're not going to get away with it,” said Canete.
He said he’s going to keep raising money so he can keep buying more whistles for children in other communities.