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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
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FACT BRIEF

Was a 4-year-old child kidnapped in an Omaha Sam's Club, then found assaulted in the store's bathroom?

By Christiana Dillard
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NO

There is no evidence the incident took place and police in Omaha have flagged the oft-recycled story as an urban legend.

The claim, which has appeared on the internet with varying details for at least two decades, has resurfaced on social media. According to Lt. Neal Bonacci of the Omaha Police Department, multiple versions of the story have circulated with details like location and circumstance tweaked depending on where the claim appeared. Bonacci confirmed that the Omaha claim was false.

One element in the claim is true -- it refers to "Code Adam," which is an actual code called to launch a search for children who have gone missing in public places.

The code is named in memory of 6-year-old Adam Walsh and was launched by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and Adam's parents, John and Reve Walsh.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Order Your Free Code Adam Kit Today!
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children "Everyone's Heartbroken"
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.