DENVER -- Have you ever received random text messages from people you don't know?

Chances are your child has, and investigators say those text messages are one of the ways predators reach out to children in hopes of grooming another victim.

One mother, who wanted to remain anonymous, said initially, her daughter didn't realize the person who contacted her via text was a married father in his 30s.

"Some of the things she experienced -- pictures, texts -- I don't feel like at 15 or any age, a child should have to experience," the mother said.

Over time, texting wasn't enough for the predator and the contact accelerated into a frightening situation for the girl's family.

"Then it went from online on MySpace to actually verbally talking to my child and then showing up at her school," the mother said.

The suspect came to her daughter's school last month, the family said. But, fortunately, a savvy grandmother was watching the interaction from the car and alerted the rest of the family, the mother said.

"What if ... the 'What ifs.' What if she'd gotten in a car? The fear of having somebody I don't know touch my child ... ," the mother said, crying. "And it still goes through my head."

Fortunately, her daughter is safe and the alleged predator in the case has been caught. Detective Mike Harris nabbed the suspect using new cell phone technology.

The program, called My Mobile Watchdog, tracks text messages and saves countless hours of investigative time.

"It's so much easier to document the text messages. Before, we were taking pictures of our cell phone," Harris said.

The program helps law enforcement officers or any parent who buys it keep track of every text message, phone call or photo that's sent to a child and it retains those records in memory.

"I hear people say it's kind of like spying. I call it being a parent," Harris said.

The service even alerts you if your child receives an unapproved e-mail, text or phone call.

"You can log onto your computer, your account, and look at an activity log and see who's communicating with your child," Harris said.

"I ask kids in my middle school presentations, 'How many of you kids receive a text message from someone you don't know?' And about 35 percent of the kids answer that they have," Harris said.

Harris meets kids as young as 8 years old who carry cell phones. He said predators will send message after message until they get a child to respond.

"These people will send pictures of their bodies ... They have one motivation and that's to get our kids," Harris said.

"Had I known about this program ahead of time, it would have been on there," said the mother. She has now signed up for My Mobile Watchdog but hopes no other parents will have to live her nightmare.

"I am just very fearful that nothing else happens to my kids," she said.

So far, Harris and his team at the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office have used the My Mobile Watchdog service in 39 arrests.

Investigators also tell parents to remind their kids not to give out personal information and that if they get a message from someone they don't know, delete it and don't answer it.

Additional Resource:

To learn more about My Mobile Watchdog program, go to MyMobileWatchdog.com