Suri Cruise Fears for her safety in New York
Her designer gear could be attracting the wrong sort of attention
After being spotted wandering around New York apparently alone and unprotected, superstar Katie Holmes’ daughter Suri is a prime target for kidnappers, law enforcement experts have warned.
After the 13-year-old was spotted carrying a $4000 crossbody Chanel bag around Manhattan, without any security personnel in sight, former Chicago policeman-turnedprivate eye Paul Huebl believes this is “an invitation for a criminal” to commit a robbery – or worse, a kidnapping.
TOTAL SECURITY
“If I were Tom [Cruise] or Katie, I would make sure my daughter had armed, fully vetted security people following her every time she stepped out of the house,” says Paul. “There are monsters out there who put price tags on kids because their parents are celebrities, and Cruise and his ex-wife are among the biggest.”
Dressed in orange shorts and a purple tie-dye T-shirt, the chain of Suri’s designer handbag was looped loosely over her shoulder while she appeared to be waiting on the street for someone.
Taking cues from her fashionconscious mum, who has an extensive designer handbag collection, Suri has clearly got an eye for style. She’s often seen out and about in New York either alone or with other young friends, carrying designer bags or wearing expensive jewellery. In April she went out for dinner with friends to celebrate her 13th birthday, and was spotted carrying a beaded Susan Alexandra bag, worth around $385. Her friend was carrying a Mark Cross bag, that sells for around $2295.
Suri has been brought up in NYC, where she lives with her mum Katie, 40, and is regularly seen acting like a well-seasoned New Yorker, hailing taxis and shopping in the city’s hotspots. However it’s important not be complacent, warn experts of her street-smart ways.
“Suri needs to be educated about the dangers she will face on the streets,” says Paul, who suggests Katie creates a security strategy that includes round-theclock protection. “They need to be highly trained people who know how to give Suri enough room to live her life but remain close enough to spring to her rescue the instant a threat presents itself. You don’t want to surround her with big, hulking guards. I’d get women who can blend into the background.”
The cost for building such a team would be around $100,000 for each person.
‘There are monsters who put price tags on kids’
TRACKING AT ALL TIMES
Paul also suggests Katie should make sure Suri’s phone is equipped with a tracking device and a panic button be secured to her clothing or bag.
If she wanted maximum security, there’s even new technology “to implant a tracking device inside their children, the same way that people do for their pets,” he says.
“It sounds crazy but it makes sense. A tracking device can be removed from clothing but this is smart and fail-safe.”
During a shopping trip several years ago, Tom, 57, and Katie were thinking the worst when their daughter briefly “went missing”.
Thankfully, it turned out Suri, then just six, had just run down an aisle out of Katie’s sight and disappeared into a crowd. She and her mother were quickly reunited, but the false alarm prompted the couple – who’d just split up – to work together to protect Suri from unnecessary danger, according to sources at the time.
Tom consulted several risk management analysts and together they devised a plan to ensure Suri’s security by building a “panic room” in Katie’s Manhattan apartment. At the time, security expert Bo Dietl confirmed a panic room “could save her life” in the event of a break-in.