Originally Posted by
RubeRad
I don't know about a child, but around here coyotes eat a lot of cats. I once came across a coyote with something in its mouth, walking down the street early in the morning. I was in my car, I slowly followed it, before long it spooked, dropped its stuff, and ran off. I got out to see what it had been carrying, it was the front half of a cat.
There are a lot of missing cats in our area as well. The grounds crew of the complex we used to live were clearing brush and found a den with many cat collars around it. A coyote kept following a friend one morning, a friend who is over 6 feet and not dainty.
You're right a child might be a stretch. But in the park they were concerned about an unsuspecting child approaching one thinking it was a dog. Regardless, good thing to keep them a bit afraid of people.