This entire ordeal with Stephen Alexander Bell left neighbors on Tybee concerned about their safety. One family there says things haven't been normal at their home since Bell went missing. Now that he's back in custody -- the family tells NEWS 3 they hope this is a wake-up call for everyone.
"Three girls - 2, 7, and 8," Stephen Hines says, telling NEWS 3 his daughter’s ages. His little girls love spending time outdoors, whether it's in their front yard or at a park across the street.
"As a kid, I can probably think I would have easily gone over there and run around at their age but you know nowadays you just can't do that," says Stephen, especially when a sex offender goes missing from your community.
"When we heard about this whole thing and this guy's loose and the band's cut off, immediately we were like in lockdown mode. You just don't know so you guys are not out of our sight at all," says Stephen.
Now that Bell's back in police custody, the Hines daughters are playing outside again and their father is right there with them. "If they're playing in the park by themselves I'm definitely going to be up here within earshot," says Stephen because Bell is not the only sex offender or criminal living in our neighborhoods.
"You have that Georgia predator and sex offender website. My wife is always checking that thing," says Stephen. "Hopefully other people even without kids are going to go, 'Wait a minute, we need to be cognitive of this stuff.' Because it really affects the whole community." A community filled with little kids who just want to enjoy their childhood and parents who are doing their best to protect them.
Stephen Hines tells us he hopes people stay alert about sex offenders and remember that it's not just a one-time thing.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement