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Speaker 1: Last year, I went out on my own into the

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forest about an hour from my house to go camping

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for a night. I wasn't planning anything special. I just

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wanted to spend some time outside for a day and

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then go home, and although inexperienced, I didn't see the

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harm in being out for just a day. When I

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got to the camping trail, there were three cars parked

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on the road right next to it. I really didn't

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want to talk to anyone or spend the day around

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other people, so I kept driving until I found a

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different trail down the road. There were no places the park,

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so I had to go further down and then walk back.

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This trail was very thin and was all dirt, no

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gravel or anything, so it definitely wasn't a popular spot.

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Started down it, going through relatively flat terrain with nothing

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but trees and bushes around. As I got about two

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hours in, the trail slowly started thinning out until it

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was getting difficult to even tell if I was still

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on it or not. I had a feeling this could

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happen at the beginning, but I was two hours in

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so I wasn't even worried about it by then and

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had completely overlooked it. I turned around and started to

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make my way back, trying my best to find the

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more defined portion of the path. But just five minutes

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later I saw something that made me stop in my place,

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a cabin sitting right in the middle of the forest.

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My first thought on seeing it was that I was

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one hundred percent lost because I hadn't seen it on

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the way up. But then my thoughts shifted toward the

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eerie feeling it was giving me. What was a cabin

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doing way out here? I approached it slowly, and, seeing

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as it had no door, I looked inside. It was

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a full of old garbage. The longer I stayed, though,

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the more creeped out I got. I turned around and

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started going back to the trail, but was interrupted by

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a loud thump from behind me. I looked back at

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the cabin and through the doorway, I saw a man

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appear from behind the wall. He was middle aged and

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wearing torn up clothes, pretty much looking like he lived there.

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He looked at me with a creepy, emotionless face. I

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nervously said sorry, then quickly walked away. I looked back once,

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seeing him staring at me. As I got further away.

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I spent the next hour on edge, looking everywhere for

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the trail, while also making sure I wasn't being followed.

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As the sun began to set, I got increasingly more worried,

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but thankfully, just before the light was gone, I found

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the middle of the trail. I debated just going back

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to my car, but chose to stake out the night

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just to be sure I didn't lose my way again.

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I unloaded my bag and got my tent set up,

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then went inside and laid down. I had planned to

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get a fire going and do a bunch of other stuff,

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but at this point I wasn't even in the mood

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anymore and just wanted to rest. I closed my eyes

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and drifted into sleep. When my eyes opened, it was

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pitch black, and all I heard was the forest creaking.

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I tilted my head and my eyes locked on the

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entrance to my tent. Staring back at me was the

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shadow covered face of the man, with his head sticking

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through the half opened entryway. I jumped back, and the

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man did the same. I heard his footsteps hurrying away

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as I got out, and looked, only seeing the back

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of him running into the woods. With my heart still racing,

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I undid everything and shoved it into my bag, then

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carefully followed the trail all the way back to my car.

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I hadn't even begin to think of what that man

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was about to do while I was sleeping, but his

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eyes looking back at me through the dark was a

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horrifying sight that has yet to leave my head. I

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of course never went back, and have mostly refrained from

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talking about it, just because I know I won't ever

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get any answers. I was taking a summer hiking and

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camping vacation a year ago to a small river near

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my parents' house. I was visiting them for a few days,

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then going out alone to camp along the river for

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a night or two and head back home afterward. I

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don't live in the most adventurous state, so I always

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try to get out in nature whenever I'm in my

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parents town. After visiting them, I set out on my hike.

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The trail I took to get to the river was

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around four hours at a steady walking pace, But the

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best part about it was that nobody else ever used it.

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The river wasn't huge or anything, and there were plenty

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of trails that were more scenic and actually labeled. This

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one was just some thin dirt path that wasn't very defined.

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When I got to the river, it was basically dark,

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so I pitched my tent and got a fire going

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so I could relax before bed. As I sat there

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for a few minutes, I started hearing footsteps coming toward me.

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I looked over, and after a minute a man appeared

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from the trees. He waved at me and came over

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to my campsite with a smile. He looked like a

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normal man in his early thirties, though a bit dirty

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and unkempt, like he'd been camping out here for a while.

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After introducing himself as John, he made small talk with me,

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telling me that he was camping not far from here.

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I went along with the talking just to not be rude,

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but the whole thing felt off. Eventually, the man said

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good night and walked away. I watched as he went

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along the river with his flashlight, but after a minute

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the light shut off and there was nothing else after that.

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I didn't think that much of the encounter initially, but

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the man definitely had something off about him. What worried

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me the most was how he had come up just

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a few minutes after I got the fire going. He

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had to have been really close by, like he was

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following me or something. I chalked it all up to

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my nerves and told myself it was just dumb luck

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that he was out here. After all. He came up

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and introduced himself, which I assumed he wouldn't have done

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if he had any bad intentions. I smothered the fire

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and stayed up in my tent for a while, then

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fell asleep. I woke up at sunrise and spent the

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day hiking along the river. Strangely, I never saw any

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other campsites, though, no signs of fire or tents being

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set up, not even in the direction i'd seen the

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man walk in. I figured he must have been further

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into the forest, but it only made me slightly more nervous.

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I got back to my tent just before dark and

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was surprised to see John sitting next to my unlit campfire.

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Can I help you, I said. He smiled and said

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he was waiting for me to come back because he

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had found something down the river. He got up and

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started walking, urging me to come with him and see

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for myself. I hesitated, I'm gonna stay here, John, I'm

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just a bit tired. He turned around and looked at

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me with that same smile and asked me again to

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go with him. We looked each other in the eyes

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for a long couple seconds, and I knew for sure

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that something wasn't right. His smile began to fade, and

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he asked me one more time in a less friendly tone.

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I chose to not say anything, and after a moment,

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he turned around and started walking toward the river. As

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I watched him, I saw the outline of a small

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gun poking out of his shirt, like he had shoved

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it in the back of his pants. While not uncommon

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to bring a firearm out in the forests, I'd never

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known any hiker or camper to have it uncomfortably in

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the back of their pants belt with their shirt on

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top of it. The only reason would be to have

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it concealed from other people's view, which as far as

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I know, shouldn't be the main concern when going deep

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into a forest. After seeing that, I started getting everything

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together and was walking back within the hour. Thankfully, I

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was able to stay on the path in the dark

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and made it back to my car after four and

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a half hours of walking. The more I think about

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it now, the more terrifying that encounter was. I'm almost

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sure he had followed me to my camp site, but

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I don't know for how long or if he was

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stalking me the entire time I was there. Him trying

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to lure me out to the river was almost surely

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an attempt at something awful, and I think that if

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I hadn't left when I did, he probably would have

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come back later in the night and I never would

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have been seen again. Me and one of my good

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friends I'll call him Jesse, would go on camping trips

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once or twice a year. We used to more when

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we were roommates in college, but we both work full

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time now. Jesse was the one who actually got me

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into camping, having done it his whole life. I hadn't

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even been camping once before I met him. This happened

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two years ago on one of our yearly camping trips

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that we went on in the summer. To specify, we

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didn't go far out or anything. We basically went down

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a trail maybe two hours out, then set up our

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tents and everything. The whole point of it was to camp,

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not to hike, and usually for around four to five days,

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When we got to a good spot, Jesse and I

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put everything together and relaxed. The next three days were

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just as you'd expect. We sat at the campfire and

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had some drinks and just talked. We went for some

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walks and played some board games as well. But to

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sum it all up, we really just relaxed. I mean,

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that was the whole point of it. Anyway. On the

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fourth day, we agreed to wrap it up and head back.

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The next morning, as the sun was starting to set,

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we prepared to get the campfire going again. Jesse said

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he'd go for a short walk and collect some dry sticks,

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and he asked me to get the food out and

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prep it for cooking. I did as he said, but

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as the sun faded out, Jesse still wasn't back. It

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had been maybe thirty minutes, which wasn't a long time

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for a walk, but it was a long time to

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be collecting sticks. I figured he must have meant he

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was going for a walk just to walk and not

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necessarily for the sticks. I waited another thirty minutes. The

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sun was now fully set and it was getting really dark.

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I had turned on our heavy lamp for a light source,

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but I knew it would run out of batteries if

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I left it on too long. I was getting really

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worried about Jesse. He was the one who was experienced

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in everything, so it just didn't make sense for him

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to get lost like this. I figured it best to

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at least start the fire, so that if he was lost,

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maybe he'd see the flame and to find his way back.

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I took the lamp and collected a bundle of sticks

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and started the fire with some matches. By the two

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hour mark, I was really losing it. I didn't know

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what to do. I was trying to decide between looking

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for him, or going back and calling for help, or

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just staying put. Every scenario was running through my head.

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What if he'd gotten hurt and wasn't far away, then

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looking for him would make sense. But if he was

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far away, then me getting lost would only burden everything more.

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Two hours and thirty minutes after I'd last seen Jesse,

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and two hours after nightfall, I heard a gun shot.

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It was far off, somewhat in the direction Jesse went in,

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But what really scared me about it was that neither

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of us had brought a gun. I stood up and

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paced around the camp site for a minute, before grabbing

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the lamp and going out to try and find him.

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It didn't take long before I heard steady footsteps running

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toward me. My hand was trembling holding up the lamp,

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but the light only reached a few feet ahead. I

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saw a figure getting closer, and I barely recognized them

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to be Jesse. His eyes were wide open and he

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looked horrified. I'd never seen anyone's expression be that visibly

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scared before. He told me, in a sharp, hushed voice

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that we needed to leave right now. We ran back

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to the camp and got our backpacks, but left the

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rest behind. I questioned him, but he refused to answer

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until we made it out of the woods. He said

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some one else was there and approached him on his walk.

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They held him at gunpoint, making him be quiet and

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follow them somewhere. Before they reached wherever it was they

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were taking him, Jesse tried for his escape, and that's

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when I found him running. That's all he told me,

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and ever has told me every time I ask. I

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can tell he's purposefully leaving out some important details, but

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he still refuses to share them. One he specifically leaves

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out is the gun shot. He never mentioned it personally.

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I know Jesse is a capable guy, and it wouldn't

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be far off to assume he tried to overpower the

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man holding him up. Maybe he got the gun away

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from him and did what he had to do to escape.

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It would explain Jesse's traumatized state and why the man

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didn't chase him. Know what happened back there, but ever since,

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Jesse hasn't wanted to go camping again. Honestly, neither do I,

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but I just wish I could know the truth about

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what went down that night. I owned an RV that

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I would use all the time as a camper in

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the woods behind my house. It was a piece of junk,

244
00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:30,679
but I would only drive it out a couple miles,

245
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then park it and hang out for a few days,

246
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so it didn't need to be anything special. Around four

247
00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:39,159
years ago, I took this RV out into the woods

248
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for a normal weekend of camping. I drove out on

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the dirt road about a mile, then pulled off into

250
00:15:44,759 --> 00:15:47,320
a small plot in between all the trees and set

251
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up camp. I made a small fire and brought out chairs,

252
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then sat back and had some drinks. I'd take friends

253
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out with me a lot but they weren't always able

254
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to spend several days away, so this was just some

255
00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:04,360
time I was spending with myself. As nights started coming in,

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I put some more fuel in the fire pit. Just

257
00:16:08,799 --> 00:16:11,720
after the sun had fully gone down, I heard something

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00:16:11,799 --> 00:16:16,840
moving around outside my camp. It didn't sound like any wildlife.

259
00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:20,159
It sounded more like a person walking somewhere out in

260
00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:24,240
the trees. I looked out in that direction, but didn't

261
00:16:24,279 --> 00:16:28,639
see anything. This went on for around twenty minutes. Hearing

262
00:16:28,679 --> 00:16:33,360
what sounded like someone walking around my camp, I put

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00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,279
out the fire and went inside the RV, locking it

264
00:16:36,360 --> 00:16:38,600
up for the night and checking out the windows over

265
00:16:38,639 --> 00:16:43,039
the next hour, but still never seeing anything. From all

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00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,360
the times I'd come out into the woods, I'd never

267
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once had someone come across my camp, so this was

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00:16:48,279 --> 00:16:52,320
not a normal occurrence. Also, knowing that they were wandering

269
00:16:52,399 --> 00:16:55,639
in the dark without a flashlight was even less normal.

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I double checked the locks before going to bed, and

271
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thankfully I got a good night's sleep. In the morning,

272
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I got up and made coffee ate breakfast, and spent

273
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a couple hours in the RV before going outside. I

274
00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:13,440
wanted to take a hike around, but I wasn't too

275
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comfortable with leaving my RV there knowing that someone else

276
00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:19,480
was out here, so instead I went for a short walk.

277
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I went out where I had heard the person from

278
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last night, looking for any shoe prince to confirm that

279
00:17:26,200 --> 00:17:29,319
I was actually a person. But from my quick search

280
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I didn't find anything helpful. I don't know if it

281
00:17:33,279 --> 00:17:36,000
made me more or less uneasy, but when I got

282
00:17:36,039 --> 00:17:38,640
back to the RV, I brought out my handgun and

283
00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:43,000
strapped it to my waist just to be safe. When

284
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it was night again, I started up the fire pit

285
00:17:45,759 --> 00:17:49,079
and tried to take my mind off of things. I

286
00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:51,880
sat outside for a while, I want to say probably

287
00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:54,880
an hour, and was relieved to have not heard anyone.

288
00:17:56,279 --> 00:17:58,440
I had a beer and listened to the calming sounds

289
00:17:58,440 --> 00:18:02,240
of the woods at night until I got sleepy. I

290
00:18:02,319 --> 00:18:04,680
stood up and went to put out the fire when

291
00:18:04,680 --> 00:18:06,839
I saw a figure in the corner of my eye.

292
00:18:08,039 --> 00:18:11,160
My head quickly shifted to look at them. They were

293
00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:15,039
standing between the trees, maybe twenty five feet away, glowing

294
00:18:15,039 --> 00:18:17,559
in the faint light of the fire pit, and just

295
00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:21,920
watching me. Only a moment passed before they turned and

296
00:18:21,960 --> 00:18:26,519
walked away, leaving the light. I was really creeped out

297
00:18:26,799 --> 00:18:29,839
and not hearing any more footsteps or movement only made

298
00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:33,799
me more paranoid about where they could be. I picked

299
00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:36,400
up everything I had outside and put it in the RV,

300
00:18:36,799 --> 00:18:39,599
then put out the fire and locked myself inside again.

301
00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,000
I was even thinking about fully packing up and heading

302
00:18:43,039 --> 00:18:45,160
home in the morning, because this just wasn't going to

303
00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:48,720
be a nice time anymore. Whoever was out there had

304
00:18:48,759 --> 00:18:51,839
now come by my RV twice, and neither time did

305
00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:56,279
they say anything or introduced themselves. I stayed on watch

306
00:18:56,319 --> 00:18:59,480
for a couple hours, checking the windows multiple times and

307
00:18:59,519 --> 00:19:04,160
listening intently. It was during the third hour, while I

308
00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:06,759
was knotting off in my chair, that I heard footsteps

309
00:19:06,799 --> 00:19:10,599
approaching the RV. They were walking quickly, going right up

310
00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:14,960
to the door. I stayed quiet, clutching my pistol and

311
00:19:15,119 --> 00:19:18,839
hoping for them not to do anything. There were a

312
00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:22,039
few odd seconds of them not making a sound, but

313
00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:25,799
just standing on the other side of the door. Then

314
00:19:25,839 --> 00:19:31,559
they slowly walked around the RV, then quickly ran away.

315
00:19:34,519 --> 00:19:36,960
I stayed awake until the sun came up, and as

316
00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:39,279
soon as it was clear enough to drive, I got

317
00:19:39,319 --> 00:19:43,640
the RV ready and drove home. Whoever was out there

318
00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:46,039
had to have some sick plans for them to be

319
00:19:46,079 --> 00:19:48,319
coming up to my RV like that in the middle

320
00:19:48,319 --> 00:19:50,720
of the night, and I knew that if I stayed,

321
00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:53,480
it would likely have ended up really bad for one

322
00:19:53,519 --> 00:19:56,440
of us, and I wasn't going to take my chances

323
00:19:56,599 --> 00:20:15,440
for it to be me. I was on a camping

324
00:20:15,519 --> 00:20:19,839
trail in the Northern Appalachians, I believe five years ago. Now.

325
00:20:21,279 --> 00:20:24,319
It wasn't anything special, just some new trail I was

326
00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:28,480
going along. I'd done many trails on this mountain range

327
00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:33,759
before and was confident in camping and hiking them based

328
00:20:33,799 --> 00:20:36,799
on my research beforehand. I planned to be on trail

329
00:20:36,880 --> 00:20:42,000
for three days, camping the two nights. The first portion

330
00:20:42,400 --> 00:20:45,920
was a decently beaten path, but the further route I got,

331
00:20:46,319 --> 00:20:52,079
the less apparent the path became. I continued still until

332
00:20:52,079 --> 00:20:54,720
a few things caught my attention and I started to

333
00:20:54,799 --> 00:20:57,079
wonder if I was even on the right path anymore.

334
00:20:58,279 --> 00:21:01,440
I checked my mapping compass, as well as some directional

335
00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:04,000
notes I made on my phone when I was researching.

336
00:21:05,279 --> 00:21:08,559
After looking into it, I was ninety percent sure I

337
00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:13,240
was on a different path. However, the map showed and

338
00:21:13,319 --> 00:21:16,839
no alternative paths on the route, so I was really

339
00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:21,000
unsure where I was. I turned around and followed the

340
00:21:21,039 --> 00:21:23,440
path back to try and get on the right trail again,

341
00:21:23,759 --> 00:21:25,880
but it was starting to get dark and I was

342
00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:30,000
worried that I'd venture off and get further lost, so

343
00:21:30,599 --> 00:21:33,640
I set up camp where I was. I didn't go

344
00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:36,519
through the effort of doing a full setup. I just

345
00:21:36,519 --> 00:21:40,359
put down my tent and that was about it. I

346
00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:43,680
bundled up in my sleeping bag and fell fast asleep.

347
00:21:45,839 --> 00:21:49,839
A few hours into the night, I woke up. To

348
00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:52,319
the best of my knowledge, it was for no other

349
00:21:52,359 --> 00:21:56,119
reason than having to use the bathroom, But when I

350
00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:58,920
unzipped the tent and went out to the trees, I

351
00:21:59,079 --> 00:22:03,720
noticed a glow in the distance, an unmistakable flickering glow

352
00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:08,319
of a campfire. My first thought was maybe someone had

353
00:22:08,359 --> 00:22:11,920
coincidentally followed the wrong path as well, but as I

354
00:22:11,960 --> 00:22:14,640
thought it over, I realized the chances of that were

355
00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:19,279
extremely low. It was also around two am, so having

356
00:22:19,319 --> 00:22:21,240
a fire going in the middle of the night like

357
00:22:21,319 --> 00:22:25,880
this was very unusual. I knew I wouldn't be able

358
00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:29,680
to sleep knowing someone was nearby, and I wouldn't feel

359
00:22:29,759 --> 00:22:34,200
safe unless I knew they were just fellow campers. My

360
00:22:34,279 --> 00:22:36,759
big idea was to start a fire of my own,

361
00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:40,200
hopefully showing them that I was nearby. If they didn't

362
00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:44,079
already know, and if they were planning something, then it

363
00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:48,880
would show them that I was awake and aware. I

364
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,599
burned up a flame big enough for them to see,

365
00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:54,599
but only a minute or two later they put their

366
00:22:54,680 --> 00:23:00,279
fire out. My face went numb. There was no way

367
00:23:00,599 --> 00:23:04,960
this was a coincidence too. I waited the night out,

368
00:23:05,319 --> 00:23:08,440
checking frequently for any sign of whoever was out there,

369
00:23:08,960 --> 00:23:13,400
but there was nothing else. In the morning, I rolled

370
00:23:13,440 --> 00:23:15,880
up my tent and got my gear ready, but my

371
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:20,640
curiosity got the best of me. If they were just campers,

372
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:24,480
maybe they'd know the way back too. I had my

373
00:23:24,599 --> 00:23:28,119
handgun holstered to my chest just in case, and I

374
00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:32,839
approached the site. It was empty, but there were clear

375
00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:36,440
signs of a fire. There were also multiple shoe prints

376
00:23:36,599 --> 00:23:41,279
all around, and not far off a small hut or

377
00:23:41,359 --> 00:23:47,160
maybe a cabin, not something temporary. I approached with caution

378
00:23:47,599 --> 00:23:51,960
and looked inside the open door. The place was old

379
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:58,480
and musty smelling, but inside there was tons of camping gear, tents,

380
00:23:58,759 --> 00:24:05,039
hiking sticks, everything. A camper or hiker would need expensive

381
00:24:05,079 --> 00:24:09,200
gear too, not just some cheap junk. The way was

382
00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:12,000
piled up, though it didn't seem like it was from

383
00:24:12,039 --> 00:24:16,680
one person or even from one time frame. Some of

384
00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:19,559
this stuff was new and some of it was older.

385
00:24:21,319 --> 00:24:25,880
I turned away and started quickly going back. By some miracle,

386
00:24:26,279 --> 00:24:29,200
I happened to stumble by a boulder that I remembered

387
00:24:29,240 --> 00:24:32,799
passing on my way up, and from there I found

388
00:24:32,839 --> 00:24:36,000
my way to the right path. I took it back

389
00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:40,039
to the way I came and got out asap. I

390
00:24:40,119 --> 00:24:43,640
notified the police just in case, but nothing came of it.

391
00:24:44,559 --> 00:24:48,119
I don't think they ever searched the area, but I

392
00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,640
think whoever was out there was stealing people's camping equipment

393
00:24:51,960 --> 00:24:55,680
by getting them to go off the main path. I

394
00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:58,440
don't know how they did it, or if anyone who

395
00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:01,480
fell victim was able to make out, but I think

396
00:25:01,519 --> 00:25:17,160
I was extremely close to finding out firsthand. Every year

397
00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:19,559
as a kid, my family would go on these big

398
00:25:19,640 --> 00:25:23,720
camping trips. I was always really excited because we lived

399
00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:27,039
in Arizona, where there's pretty much nothing, and we'd camp

400
00:25:27,079 --> 00:25:30,960
in Washington. Seeing trees and grass was my favorite part,

401
00:25:31,279 --> 00:25:33,640
but I also got to see all my cousins, and

402
00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:36,079
even though we only saw each other a couple times

403
00:25:36,079 --> 00:25:40,839
a year, we were really close. My favorite cousin, who

404
00:25:40,920 --> 00:25:44,279
was more like a brother to me, was Luis. He

405
00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:46,960
was a year older than me, and we were inseparable

406
00:25:47,039 --> 00:25:52,480
when together. Because of what happened, we became even closer

407
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:56,200
after that camping trip. I think it took us both

408
00:25:56,319 --> 00:25:59,680
a while to understand what really went on and what

409
00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:09,640
more could have happened to us. It started when we

410
00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,720
had been there for two days. Already most of our

411
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:15,880
family was either in the lake or by the campfire talking.

412
00:26:17,039 --> 00:26:19,880
Louis didn't like to swim, so we decided to play

413
00:26:19,920 --> 00:26:23,559
in the woods instead. We played a version of tag

414
00:26:23,759 --> 00:26:27,559
called Bandit. We'd switch off being the cop and chase

415
00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:30,599
the other one who was the bandit until we'd catch them.

416
00:26:31,759 --> 00:26:34,880
We would play for hours, but in the woods it's

417
00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,440
easy to just keep running and not know where you're going.

418
00:26:38,599 --> 00:26:41,359
We tried our best to stay within viewing distance. But

419
00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:44,200
when Louise started chasing me with a huge stick, I

420
00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:48,359
guess my adrenaline kicked in the hyperspeed. I don't know

421
00:26:48,400 --> 00:26:51,759
how long I ran for, but eventually I ended up

422
00:26:51,799 --> 00:26:56,880
at an old looking trailer. Louise wasn't far behind, but

423
00:26:56,960 --> 00:27:00,599
I remember him throwing the stick down his folk now

424
00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:04,240
on what we both assumed was an abandoned trailer. We

425
00:27:04,319 --> 00:27:07,640
discussed investigating it further, and I'm not really sure why,

426
00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:12,200
but we decided not to. We started walking back, but

427
00:27:12,319 --> 00:27:16,759
we didn't really know where we were going. Probably about

428
00:27:16,759 --> 00:27:19,839
ten minutes into our walk, we saw a couple coming

429
00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:24,359
towards us, pushing a shopping cart full of stuff. The

430
00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:27,599
woman approaches us and is really nice, while the man

431
00:27:27,680 --> 00:27:31,759
stayed back. She asked if we were lost, who we

432
00:27:31,759 --> 00:27:35,960
were with our names and ages, and I remember when

433
00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:38,720
we told her how old we were. She looked back

434
00:27:38,720 --> 00:27:42,079
at the guy and then to us again. She told

435
00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:44,559
us we don't have to be scared, and she'll help

436
00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:46,720
us find our way home after they drop off their

437
00:27:46,759 --> 00:27:50,039
stuff at their campsite. She said we could also make

438
00:27:50,079 --> 00:27:54,440
s'mores if we wanted. Louise and I were hesitant, but

439
00:27:54,599 --> 00:27:57,920
she seemed really nice, and it was still daytime, so

440
00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:02,359
for some reason, that made everything way less suspicious in

441
00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:05,640
my seven year old brain. Bad people only do things

442
00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:09,839
at night, so we were fine. We walked with them

443
00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:13,599
for a while, following them back to their camp. While

444
00:28:13,599 --> 00:28:16,400
her and Luis were talking, I glanced over at the

445
00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:20,039
shopping cart. It was filled with a bunch of rusty

446
00:28:20,079 --> 00:28:23,160
metal things in what looked like to be nothing new.

447
00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:27,799
Nothing was in bags. Everything just looked like trash they'd

448
00:28:27,839 --> 00:28:32,079
found somewhere. I started to get really uncomfortable, and I

449
00:28:32,079 --> 00:28:35,680
could tell Luise was too. Every time I'd look over

450
00:28:35,720 --> 00:28:39,599
at the guy, he was never smiling, and sometimes he'd

451
00:28:39,599 --> 00:28:43,680
be staring at me with a blank stare. This was

452
00:28:43,759 --> 00:28:48,680
eighteen years ago, and I still remember how creepy he looked.

453
00:28:49,880 --> 00:28:52,839
We walked a bit further until the trailer came back

454
00:28:52,880 --> 00:28:56,240
into view, and the woman grabbed Louise in Mine's hands

455
00:28:56,359 --> 00:29:01,079
and asked if we were excited for s'mores. I heard

456
00:29:01,119 --> 00:29:05,960
Louise's name being called, and then mine. We all stopped

457
00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:08,759
for a second, and the lady squeezed my hand a

458
00:29:08,799 --> 00:29:12,519
bit tighter. She asked something to the guy along the

459
00:29:12,519 --> 00:29:15,720
lines of what they should do. He responded, but I

460
00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:19,200
don't remember what he said. The lady started to turn

461
00:29:19,279 --> 00:29:22,400
us toward the trailer while holding us tighter and tighter.

462
00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:26,119
She started to speed up as well, into sort of

463
00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:30,119
a fast walk. I looked back and saw my sister

464
00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:34,839
through the trees without hesitation. I yelled her name, and

465
00:29:34,880 --> 00:29:38,519
the lady immediately let go of my hand. Louise and

466
00:29:38,559 --> 00:29:40,880
I ran to her. As she made her way towards us,

467
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:44,640
my sister yelled to the others that she'd found us.

468
00:29:46,039 --> 00:29:48,160
My mom and dad thanked the couple who had told

469
00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:50,640
them this elaborate story on how they've been trying to

470
00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:53,119
find our parents for a while now, and that were

471
00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:57,599
such sweet boys and everything. I remember my parents inviting

472
00:29:57,599 --> 00:30:01,920
the couple over for burgers, but thankfully they declined. I

473
00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:04,200
think because the lady was so nice and that we

474
00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:08,240
were found safe that my parents didn't think twice. I

475
00:30:08,319 --> 00:30:11,119
do recall my dad and uncle talking about how creepy

476
00:30:11,119 --> 00:30:14,599
the guy was, though my cousin and I ended up

477
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:17,680
telling my sister who found us, that the couple was weird,

478
00:30:18,039 --> 00:30:21,839
but I don't think she understood what we meant. It

479
00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:24,200
wasn't until my cousin and I were old enough to

480
00:30:24,319 --> 00:30:28,640
understand that some people have really bad intentions. We talked

481
00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:30,880
about it again in depth, and we both came to

482
00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:33,799
the conclusion that by the looks of it, they were

483
00:30:33,839 --> 00:30:36,640
tied on money and were probably going to sell us

484
00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:40,759
or something. For years growing up, I had kept this

485
00:30:40,799 --> 00:30:42,960
from my parents because I was supposed to be the

486
00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:45,960
strong man of the family, and thinking about that time

487
00:30:46,079 --> 00:30:50,880
made me feel gross and preyed upon. Luis also felt embarrassed,

488
00:30:51,119 --> 00:30:53,319
as he was older than me and felt he had

489
00:30:53,359 --> 00:30:57,839
failed to protect me. We eventually told our parents a

490
00:30:57,839 --> 00:31:00,240
few years ago, but I wish we had told them

491
00:31:00,279 --> 00:31:06,039
immediately and maybe something could have been done. Nowadays, I

492
00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:08,799
never let my kids out of my sight and always

493
00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:11,519
let them know that they can tell me anything without

494
00:31:11,559 --> 00:31:37,960
fear of being judged, especially my son. I went on

495
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:41,119
a camping trip with my buddy from college. I'll call

496
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:44,680
him Andrew to keep both of our identities private. We'd

497
00:31:44,720 --> 00:31:46,720
been friends for a little less than a year and

498
00:31:46,759 --> 00:31:49,599
both enjoyed the forest and going for hikes, but really

499
00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:53,880
hadn't ever stayed overnight in nature before. This was during

500
00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:56,400
spring break at our school and we'd been planning this

501
00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:59,359
for a while. We chose a trail we were familiar

502
00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:01,319
with and even and got a basic idea of the

503
00:32:01,400 --> 00:32:04,000
area we would set up at, and come the day

504
00:32:04,039 --> 00:32:08,240
of we headed out without thinking twice. We were happy

505
00:32:08,319 --> 00:32:11,279
seeing that nobody else was on the trail in fact,

506
00:32:11,359 --> 00:32:14,160
we had chosen this trail for that very reason, knowing

507
00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:18,039
it was never a busy attraction. The trail took us

508
00:32:18,039 --> 00:32:20,799
about six miles into the forest before we got to

509
00:32:20,839 --> 00:32:23,160
the general area where we wanted to set up and

510
00:32:23,200 --> 00:32:26,359
pissed our tents, then had a small meal. Just before

511
00:32:26,359 --> 00:32:29,599
the sun was about to come down, Andrew and I

512
00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:32,160
collected some large stones and sticks to make a fire

513
00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:36,599
with and got it going just as it got dark. Irresponsibly,

514
00:32:36,799 --> 00:32:39,480
we'd brought a pack of beers and started drinking while

515
00:32:39,519 --> 00:32:42,559
talking and just hanging out by the fire. We had

516
00:32:42,599 --> 00:32:45,720
some good conversations and had fun, but a couple hours

517
00:32:45,759 --> 00:32:48,880
in we were ready to call it a night. We

518
00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:51,000
put out the fire, then got in our tents to

519
00:32:51,039 --> 00:32:54,559
go to bed. I actually fell asleep really easily because

520
00:32:54,559 --> 00:32:57,400
of the calm sounds of nature. But throughout the night

521
00:32:57,599 --> 00:33:01,160
I kept waking up. It wasn't due to any noises,

522
00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:04,680
but I would just jerk awake for some reason. I

523
00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:07,240
assumed it was just me being unfamiliar with being out

524
00:33:07,279 --> 00:33:09,720
in the forest at night, but it still gave me

525
00:33:09,759 --> 00:33:14,599
an uneasy feeling. Then, on maybe my fourth or fifth

526
00:33:14,599 --> 00:33:19,480
time waking up, I heard Andrew's tent on zipping. I

527
00:33:19,519 --> 00:33:21,839
thought he was probably going out to use the bathroom

528
00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:24,839
or something, but he only took a few steps until

529
00:33:24,839 --> 00:33:27,960
I heard him open up his backpack and start searching around.

530
00:33:29,359 --> 00:33:33,079
Another thirty or so seconds went by with no other noises.

531
00:33:33,960 --> 00:33:36,200
It was like he was just standing right outside of

532
00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:40,599
his tent. I sat up and eventually unzipped my tent

533
00:33:40,680 --> 00:33:43,599
and looked out. As soon as the sound of my

534
00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:47,079
zipper began, I heard Andrew's footsteps rush away from the

535
00:33:47,079 --> 00:33:49,519
front of my tent, and by the time I stuck

536
00:33:49,559 --> 00:33:52,960
my head out, Andrew was ducked down and quickly shoved

537
00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:56,240
something back into his backpack, then turned and looked at

538
00:33:56,240 --> 00:34:01,240
me with a concerned face. Is everything okay? He looked

539
00:34:01,279 --> 00:34:04,960
at me for a moment, then nodded his head. Something

540
00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:09,039
about this immediately felt off. I climbed out of my

541
00:34:09,119 --> 00:34:11,880
tent and stood up, asking what he was doing out here.

542
00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:15,480
He responded by saying he was having trouble sleeping and

543
00:34:15,599 --> 00:34:17,840
just came out for some fresh air. But while he

544
00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:22,079
was talking, I looked down at his backpack. Sticking out

545
00:34:22,079 --> 00:34:24,760
of the top was the back end of a handgun.

546
00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:28,719
I felt my face turn white as I looked back

547
00:34:28,719 --> 00:34:31,280
at Andrew and tried my best to hide my reaction,

548
00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:35,480
but he already knew what I saw. We stared at

549
00:34:35,559 --> 00:34:38,920
each other for a strange few seconds before he turned

550
00:34:38,920 --> 00:34:42,800
and went back inside his tent, not saying another word.

551
00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:46,159
I'd never seen him act like that before, and his

552
00:34:46,280 --> 00:34:48,800
face gave a way that he was guilty of something.

553
00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:52,199
It was already strange that he never told me he

554
00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:54,719
was bringing a gun, but the way he was acting

555
00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:58,960
just made it even more unsettling. I stayed up for

556
00:34:59,000 --> 00:35:01,320
the rest of the night, sitting on the ground outside

557
00:35:01,360 --> 00:35:03,480
the tents and waiting for the sun to come up.

558
00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:09,239
When it did, I packed everything up and left. After

559
00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:13,199
that day, Andrew never contacted me, which I guess proves

560
00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:16,639
that something was going on that night. I don't know

561
00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:19,320
for sure what would have happened or why it would

562
00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:21,960
have happened, but I know that I was lucky to

563
00:35:21,960 --> 00:35:35,880
get out of there before finding out. I'm twenty nine

564
00:35:36,079 --> 00:35:39,239
and I live along the Appalachian Range in lower West Virginia.

565
00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:44,159
I've been going backpacking and camping for years, exploring different

566
00:35:44,159 --> 00:35:48,519
trails all around the nearby mountains. My best friend, who

567
00:35:48,599 --> 00:35:51,280
lived just a few miles from me would often join

568
00:35:51,320 --> 00:35:55,280
me on these hikes. We usually planned one big trail

569
00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:58,199
every year in the fall, being anywhere from a few

570
00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:03,079
days to a whole week of backpacking and camping. In

571
00:36:03,159 --> 00:36:06,039
twenty nineteen, we planned to take a trail across the

572
00:36:06,159 --> 00:36:08,920
range to a small lake at the top of the mountains.

573
00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:11,599
In the days leading up to the trip, though my

574
00:36:11,719 --> 00:36:14,000
friend had to call it off because of an emergency

575
00:36:14,039 --> 00:36:17,239
at his work. I'd already taken the whole week off

576
00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:20,159
of work and had everything ready to go, so I

577
00:36:20,239 --> 00:36:25,119
decided to just go alone. On Monday morning, I drove

578
00:36:25,159 --> 00:36:29,559
to a nearby trailhead then started my route. This wasn't

579
00:36:29,599 --> 00:36:33,000
a regular recreational trail like you typically see on a

580
00:36:33,039 --> 00:36:38,000
four hour hike. These backpacking trails didn't have defined paths,

581
00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:41,519
so you have to use maps, compasses, and landmarks to

582
00:36:41,599 --> 00:36:45,599
navigate where you're going. Typically, there's a large landmark in

583
00:36:45,599 --> 00:36:49,440
the distance, like a specific rock formation, that you hike toward,

584
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:51,920
and when you get there you could see your next

585
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:56,079
landmark and so on. I spent the first two days

586
00:36:56,119 --> 00:36:59,320
hiking toward a ridge in the mountains. When I got

587
00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:02,039
dark on the second day, I set up camp several

588
00:37:02,079 --> 00:37:06,039
hours from reaching the ridge, I pitched the tent and

589
00:37:06,119 --> 00:37:08,679
got a fire going, then heated up some of the

590
00:37:08,719 --> 00:37:12,280
food I brought in my bag. The sun had already set,

591
00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:14,440
and it was around eight o'clock when I laid in

592
00:37:14,480 --> 00:37:18,360
my tent to rest and read. I left the fire going,

593
00:37:18,639 --> 00:37:24,320
planning to put it out before actually sleeping. Twenty minutes

594
00:37:24,360 --> 00:37:28,599
into reading and through the fire crackling outside, I heard

595
00:37:28,599 --> 00:37:32,639
the strong sound of a stick snapping right behind my tent.

596
00:37:33,840 --> 00:37:37,280
I joked it up. My first thought was a black bear,

597
00:37:37,679 --> 00:37:41,079
possibly having smelled the food I cooked earlier. I didn't

598
00:37:41,119 --> 00:37:44,599
hear anything else, though. I crawled out of the tent

599
00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:49,800
and shined a flashlight into the tree line behind my tent. Nothing.

600
00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:54,559
I called out aggressively to scare away any predators, but

601
00:37:54,679 --> 00:37:58,760
again there were no sounds of anything running away. It

602
00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:02,800
was really strange because the stick snapping was very distinct,

603
00:38:03,400 --> 00:38:07,559
definitely being from something stepping on it. I stayed outside

604
00:38:07,599 --> 00:38:11,360
the tent for a while, looking around constantly, before putting

605
00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:15,000
out the fire and going inside. I found it really

606
00:38:15,039 --> 00:38:17,519
hard to sleep that night because I was so focused

607
00:38:17,519 --> 00:38:21,519
on listening for more sounds. In the morning, I was

608
00:38:21,519 --> 00:38:25,440
almost surprised to have even slept through the night. I

609
00:38:25,519 --> 00:38:28,320
packed my tent and everything else at the campsite, then

610
00:38:28,360 --> 00:38:32,400
continued along until I reached the ridge. From there, it

611
00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:36,239
was a straight shot to the lake. I was moving fast,

612
00:38:36,400 --> 00:38:38,400
trying to get there before dark so I wouldn't have

613
00:38:38,440 --> 00:38:42,000
to move my campsite again. The next day. I arrived

614
00:38:42,079 --> 00:38:46,559
with about an hour despair before sunset. The lake was beautiful,

615
00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:50,800
very much worth the hike. I walked around it, enjoying

616
00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:53,400
the scenery, then pitched the tent and set out my

617
00:38:53,440 --> 00:38:57,320
camp on the tree line beside the lake. As I

618
00:38:57,360 --> 00:39:01,000
sat by the fire, I kept turning around, hearing soft

619
00:39:01,079 --> 00:39:05,000
noises somewhere between the trees behind me. I figured I

620
00:39:05,039 --> 00:39:08,719
was just being paranoid, but it was really creepy. It

621
00:39:08,760 --> 00:39:12,639
almost sounded exactly like footsteps. But I knew nobody would

622
00:39:12,679 --> 00:39:15,360
be out here. I would have seen their tent when

623
00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:18,599
I walked around the lake. It was too dark at

624
00:39:18,639 --> 00:39:20,880
this point to see anything further than a few feet,

625
00:39:21,360 --> 00:39:26,159
so looking around wasn't an option anymore. An hour later,

626
00:39:26,519 --> 00:39:30,039
I got in my tent and laid down. Every few

627
00:39:30,079 --> 00:39:33,960
minutes I would hear footsteps again. They were barely too

628
00:39:34,039 --> 00:39:36,559
quiet for me to tell for sure. What they were, though.

629
00:39:38,039 --> 00:39:43,480
Eventually I got so tired that I fell asleep, and

630
00:39:44,000 --> 00:39:46,519
what I think was only an hour after I fell asleep,

631
00:39:47,119 --> 00:39:49,800
I woke up to the sound of someone running away

632
00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:54,119
from my tent. I jolted up and grabbed my flashlight.

633
00:39:54,519 --> 00:39:56,920
Rushing out of the tent and looking in the direction

634
00:39:57,000 --> 00:40:00,760
of the footsteps, I saw the the bare back of

635
00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:05,960
them running away in the distance. My heart was beating rapidly.

636
00:40:07,159 --> 00:40:10,599
I looked down and saw footprints all around my tent,

637
00:40:10,880 --> 00:40:14,119
like they had been walking around me and searching the campsite.

638
00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:17,920
I tried to get the campfire going again as fast

639
00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:21,960
as I could so I could see better. I was

640
00:40:22,119 --> 00:40:26,800
terrified I had nowhere to go and nobody to help me.

641
00:40:28,639 --> 00:40:31,280
I sat at the fire all night, keeping my head

642
00:40:31,280 --> 00:40:34,960
on a swivel, but I never saw or heard anything else.

643
00:40:36,519 --> 00:40:39,320
In the morning, I snapped a few pictures of the lake,

644
00:40:39,880 --> 00:40:43,639
then started the hike back. I had planned to stay

645
00:40:43,679 --> 00:40:47,360
for a whole day. I wasn't comfortable anymore, feeling like

646
00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:51,159
I was being followed. I was able to make it

647
00:40:51,199 --> 00:40:56,159
back without any more trouble, thankfully, But along my journey

648
00:40:56,519 --> 00:41:01,679
I began noticing several things missing from my back small

649
00:41:01,719 --> 00:41:05,960
things like food, a few tools, et cetera. But I

650
00:41:06,039 --> 00:41:11,519
always had my bag with me. Even today, I wonder

651
00:41:11,719 --> 00:41:14,039
if whoever had been outside my tent that one night

652
00:41:14,519 --> 00:41:18,000
had actually snuck inside and stole from my bag while

653
00:41:18,000 --> 00:41:21,719
I was asleep. Even the thought of it makes my

654
00:41:21,880 --> 00:41:38,639
whole body shiver. My family owned some cabins in Oregon

655
00:41:38,760 --> 00:41:41,239
that all of us liked to stay in sometimes or

656
00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:44,119
have family get togethers there. But for this trip, I

657
00:41:44,239 --> 00:41:47,679
was going solo. I had just turned twenty, and I'd

658
00:41:47,719 --> 00:41:50,840
never been camping alone, and I figured camping somewhere near

659
00:41:50,880 --> 00:41:53,639
the cabins would be perfect in case something were to happen.

660
00:41:55,239 --> 00:41:58,039
I drove an hour there, then walked thirty minutes down

661
00:41:58,079 --> 00:41:59,800
a trail that led to the cabin I would be

662
00:42:00,079 --> 00:42:03,719
daying by. As I walked up to it, I noticed

663
00:42:03,719 --> 00:42:06,840
one of the windows was missing. There was no glass

664
00:42:06,880 --> 00:42:09,760
on the ground. It looked like the entire window had

665
00:42:09,800 --> 00:42:12,880
just been taken out, which was a very unexpected thing

666
00:42:12,960 --> 00:42:16,559
to see. I didn't plan on entering the cabin, but

667
00:42:16,639 --> 00:42:19,440
I had brought the key for emergencies, and this felt

668
00:42:19,519 --> 00:42:22,480
like something I should investigate. But I was even more

669
00:42:22,519 --> 00:42:28,159
confused when the door opened without me unlocking it. I

670
00:42:28,199 --> 00:42:30,920
walked in and right away it was obvious that the

671
00:42:30,920 --> 00:42:34,320
place had been broken into. There were muddy footprints all

672
00:42:34,360 --> 00:42:37,360
over the floors, and some more expensive stuff was missing.

673
00:42:38,760 --> 00:42:41,159
It was unfortunate to see, but there was no way

674
00:42:41,199 --> 00:42:44,280
of knowing how long ago it all happened. From what

675
00:42:44,400 --> 00:42:46,880
I knew, it had been months since anyone was at

676
00:42:46,880 --> 00:42:49,840
the cabins, and even then they may not have even

677
00:42:49,880 --> 00:42:53,440
come to this cabin. I tried to lock up the

678
00:42:53,440 --> 00:42:55,679
place as best I could and set out to find

679
00:42:55,679 --> 00:42:58,800
a spot to camp. I had no service, but I

680
00:42:58,840 --> 00:43:01,679
didn't feel it was absolutely necessary to let my family

681
00:43:01,719 --> 00:43:04,800
know right away, or even to call the police yet.

682
00:43:06,079 --> 00:43:08,480
I walked thirty minutes down the hill from the cabin

683
00:43:08,639 --> 00:43:12,119
and found the flat enough spot to set up. Rain

684
00:43:12,199 --> 00:43:15,079
started pouring down, and being new to this, it took

685
00:43:15,119 --> 00:43:17,199
me a couple hours to get everything set up the

686
00:43:17,280 --> 00:43:21,480
right way. Already being soaked, I sat outside on a

687
00:43:21,519 --> 00:43:25,480
nearby log under a tree and started eating some prepackaged food.

688
00:43:25,800 --> 00:43:30,280
Went out of nowhere, I started hearing someone talking. I

689
00:43:30,280 --> 00:43:35,280
immediately spotted a man walking behind me. He was drenched,

690
00:43:35,599 --> 00:43:38,119
walking up the hill toward the direction of the cabin

691
00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:41,760
and didn't seem to have noticed me. The way he

692
00:43:41,880 --> 00:43:44,760
was speaking was really weird because it made no sense

693
00:43:44,880 --> 00:43:48,920
and he was obviously talking to himself. Soon he walked

694
00:43:48,920 --> 00:43:52,559
out of sight, but something about seeing that gave me chills.

695
00:43:54,119 --> 00:43:56,239
An hour went by and I took a quick hike

696
00:43:56,400 --> 00:43:58,280
back up to the cabin to see if he was

697
00:43:58,280 --> 00:44:01,960
maybe staying there. But from i'm afar, it still looked empty,

698
00:44:02,280 --> 00:44:06,519
so I went back. Once it was night. I used

699
00:44:06,519 --> 00:44:09,599
a fire kit to start a small campfire and used

700
00:44:09,599 --> 00:44:12,360
it to heat up some of my food. The rain

701
00:44:12,400 --> 00:44:14,840
made it difficult, but once the fire was going, it

702
00:44:14,880 --> 00:44:19,480
stayed up pretty well. Not long into it, I heard

703
00:44:19,519 --> 00:44:23,440
footsteps coming from up the hill. I stared at the trees,

704
00:44:23,800 --> 00:44:27,199
seeing nothing but pitch black beyond the reach of my campfire.

705
00:44:28,119 --> 00:44:32,719
They continued walking until a man came into sight. I

706
00:44:32,760 --> 00:44:35,360
couldn't see much of him, but he looked similar to

707
00:44:35,400 --> 00:44:40,239
the man I'd seen earlier. Hey what do you want?

708
00:44:40,360 --> 00:44:44,480
I yelled, trying to scare him off. He stopped and

709
00:44:44,559 --> 00:44:48,039
stared at me with a blank face, having rain dripping

710
00:44:48,039 --> 00:44:52,159
from his head. As he just stood there. I yelled again,

711
00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:56,119
but he didn't move. We were standing just ten feet

712
00:44:56,119 --> 00:44:58,920
from each other, and every second made me more and

713
00:44:59,000 --> 00:45:02,719
more scared of what it was about to happen. Then,

714
00:45:03,159 --> 00:45:05,719
through the rain, I heard the sound of a single

715
00:45:05,760 --> 00:45:10,360
footstep behind me. I instantly sprinted to the side of

716
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:13,360
the hill and didn't stop until my legs gave out

717
00:45:13,440 --> 00:45:17,280
under me. I don't think they chased me, but with

718
00:45:17,400 --> 00:45:19,519
the rain and wind, it was too hard for me

719
00:45:19,559 --> 00:45:23,360
to hear while running. I found my way up the

720
00:45:23,440 --> 00:45:25,320
hill and walked the rest of the way to my

721
00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:30,000
car in the rain with only my phone light. Once

722
00:45:30,039 --> 00:45:34,199
I got in range, I called nine one one. In

723
00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:37,400
the days following, a team was sent out to investigate

724
00:45:37,440 --> 00:45:42,719
the cabin and my campsite. My campsite was gone, left

725
00:45:42,760 --> 00:45:46,079
with only a few useless pieces of equipment, but in

726
00:45:46,119 --> 00:45:50,199
the cabin they identified three unique shoe prints on the floor.

727
00:45:51,280 --> 00:45:54,039
It had me shaking for weeks, knowing that there were

728
00:45:54,119 --> 00:45:59,599
three unknown men out there hiding not far away. Nothing

729
00:45:59,599 --> 00:46:02,119
else was found, and it was all said to most

730
00:46:02,199 --> 00:46:05,000
likely just be a robbery because they didn't chase me,

731
00:46:05,559 --> 00:46:07,639
But who knows what they would have done to me

732
00:46:07,920 --> 00:46:32,760
if I had stayed there. I do a lot of

733
00:46:32,800 --> 00:46:36,800
small camping adventures throughout the year. I try to keep

734
00:46:36,800 --> 00:46:39,719
these adventures under three days long so that I could

735
00:46:39,719 --> 00:46:42,079
do them on the weekend and only have to take

736
00:46:42,119 --> 00:46:45,760
a day or two off from work. This was just

737
00:46:45,840 --> 00:46:48,440
another camping trip of mine that I'd set to go

738
00:46:48,519 --> 00:46:52,559
on one weekend in the middle of April. My plan,

739
00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:56,159
so to speak, was to hike and estimated five hours

740
00:46:56,280 --> 00:46:58,920
up to a small lake and set my camp right

741
00:46:58,960 --> 00:47:02,440
next to it, then stay a few nights before going back.

742
00:47:04,519 --> 00:47:07,400
On the morning of, I drove out there and started

743
00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:10,719
the hike at eight a m. This lake didn't have

744
00:47:10,800 --> 00:47:13,199
any trails leading to it, which was part of the

745
00:47:13,239 --> 00:47:16,320
reason I chose to hike there. It was only a

746
00:47:16,360 --> 00:47:20,039
five hour walk, so getting lost wasn't too concerning, and

747
00:47:20,119 --> 00:47:23,320
I wouldn't have to share my experience alongside a bunch

748
00:47:23,320 --> 00:47:26,039
of random people who also wanted to go camping at

749
00:47:26,079 --> 00:47:31,480
the same spot. Four hours into walking, though I thought

750
00:47:31,480 --> 00:47:36,039
I saw someone, I was just spacing out when I

751
00:47:36,079 --> 00:47:41,639
saw something far ahead rush past my view. I frozen place,

752
00:47:42,079 --> 00:47:45,119
trying to see what or who it was and where

753
00:47:45,159 --> 00:47:49,639
they had gone, but there was no more movement. I

754
00:47:49,760 --> 00:47:52,599
wasn't looking directly at it when it happened, so I

755
00:47:52,639 --> 00:47:55,079
didn't have a clear enough view to know for sure

756
00:47:55,119 --> 00:47:57,960
that it was a person, but I paid more attention

757
00:47:58,199 --> 00:48:02,679
for the final hour of the hike. When I reached

758
00:48:02,719 --> 00:48:06,199
the lake, I was taken back by its beauty. It

759
00:48:06,320 --> 00:48:10,280
was the perfect place to catch a break. I didn't

760
00:48:10,320 --> 00:48:13,400
spend long finding a spot to set up camp, being

761
00:48:13,440 --> 00:48:15,719
in the trees just off to the side of the lake.

762
00:48:16,719 --> 00:48:20,559
Almost as soon as I did, though, I saw someone

763
00:48:20,920 --> 00:48:24,599
this time for sure. They were on the other side

764
00:48:24,639 --> 00:48:28,559
of the lake, walking around by the trees. They had

765
00:48:28,599 --> 00:48:34,119
no backpack or anything, they were just walking. I looked

766
00:48:34,119 --> 00:48:37,159
around for their campsite but didn't see anything at all.

767
00:48:38,880 --> 00:48:42,519
After a minute, they walked into the forest and didn't

768
00:48:42,559 --> 00:48:48,159
come back. This definitely put me in a slightly nervous mood,

769
00:48:48,320 --> 00:48:51,280
knowing someone else was out here at a remote lake

770
00:48:51,880 --> 00:48:54,079
and making me wonder if I really did see a

771
00:48:54,119 --> 00:48:59,559
person before while I was walking. I chose to spend

772
00:48:59,599 --> 00:49:02,920
the rest of the evening at my campsite, and come nightfall,

773
00:49:03,159 --> 00:49:06,599
I started up a fire. I kept it small to

774
00:49:06,719 --> 00:49:11,599
not draw too much attention. It had been almost four

775
00:49:11,639 --> 00:49:15,079
hours since I seen the person, but I was still nervous.

776
00:49:16,239 --> 00:49:19,559
I heated up some food and ate, then took a

777
00:49:19,599 --> 00:49:23,159
book out to pass the time. I got through a

778
00:49:23,159 --> 00:49:26,800
few pages, but I couldn't ignore this feeling like I

779
00:49:26,920 --> 00:49:30,440
was being watched. I knew it had to be my

780
00:49:30,519 --> 00:49:34,239
brain being paranoid because of earlier but after a few

781
00:49:34,280 --> 00:49:38,639
minutes I couldn't even get myself to read anymore. I

782
00:49:38,719 --> 00:49:41,239
put the book down and packed my stuff in the tent,

783
00:49:41,599 --> 00:49:45,599
preparing to go to bed. Right before I put out

784
00:49:45,639 --> 00:49:51,199
the fire, I did one last look around. About fifteen

785
00:49:51,280 --> 00:49:57,679
yards away, there was someone standing. Although it was really dark,

786
00:49:58,280 --> 00:50:02,519
I knew they were watching me. They stood still, not

787
00:50:02,679 --> 00:50:05,920
moving or anything, and we both just stared at each

788
00:50:05,920 --> 00:50:10,000
other through the dark forest. We must have been like

789
00:50:10,039 --> 00:50:13,639
that for a whole minute. When the person started backing up,

790
00:50:14,960 --> 00:50:18,199
they still faced me, but walked back into the trees

791
00:50:18,760 --> 00:50:25,079
until they were submerged in the darkness. I was physically shaking.

792
00:50:26,239 --> 00:50:29,760
What were they doing and were they going to come back?

793
00:50:31,519 --> 00:50:34,360
I built the campfire larger and stayed up through the

794
00:50:34,559 --> 00:50:38,840
entire night. At the break of dawn, I packed everything

795
00:50:38,920 --> 00:50:43,519
up and moved quickly, making my way back. There wasn't

796
00:50:43,559 --> 00:50:45,880
a bone in my body that wanted to stay there

797
00:50:45,920 --> 00:50:51,800
a second longer. During my hike back, I swear I

798
00:50:51,840 --> 00:50:57,800
heard footsteps far behind me on multiple occasions. Even now,

799
00:50:58,000 --> 00:51:01,679
thinking back on it, I feel my body tents from

800
00:51:01,719 --> 00:51:06,000
the fear I experienced on that trip. I don't know

801
00:51:06,039 --> 00:51:09,840
what that person wanted, who they were, or what they

802
00:51:09,840 --> 00:51:12,840
were doing out there, but based on how they were

803
00:51:12,840 --> 00:51:17,719
stalking me, it couldn't have been good. If I had

804
00:51:17,760 --> 00:51:20,719
stayed there another night or had gone to bed in

805
00:51:20,800 --> 00:51:38,679
the tent, I'm almost positive I wouldn't be here today.

806
00:51:39,760 --> 00:51:42,679
Last year was the first time I'd ever had something

807
00:51:42,719 --> 00:51:46,719
happen on my camping trip. I'd go camping alone several

808
00:51:46,760 --> 00:51:49,920
times a year, usually going to the same spots, but

809
00:51:50,039 --> 00:51:53,880
sometimes I'd try and find somewhere different. For this trip,

810
00:51:54,000 --> 00:51:56,960
I decided on a four mile camping trail that I'd

811
00:51:57,000 --> 00:52:01,000
never been on before. I drove out two hours from

812
00:52:01,039 --> 00:52:03,760
my house to a remote location where I started the

813
00:52:03,840 --> 00:52:08,320
hike from. Right away, I was not enjoying the trail

814
00:52:08,360 --> 00:52:11,039
as much as I thought I would, mainly because some

815
00:52:11,199 --> 00:52:15,079
portions of it were wet and muddy. Still, I continued

816
00:52:15,119 --> 00:52:18,760
along and tried to avoid those spots. I went down

817
00:52:18,800 --> 00:52:21,719
for a while, and around forty five minutes in I

818
00:52:21,840 --> 00:52:24,960
saw something off the side of the trail. It was

819
00:52:25,000 --> 00:52:27,800
a tent, but very worn down and had a few

820
00:52:27,880 --> 00:52:31,519
rips in it. From afar, I could see that nobody

821
00:52:31,599 --> 00:52:35,559
was inside of it, so I walked closer. There were

822
00:52:35,599 --> 00:52:38,800
no signs of any intentional damage. It all just seemed

823
00:52:38,840 --> 00:52:42,320
to be weathered over a long period of time. The

824
00:52:42,400 --> 00:52:44,960
fact that it was still standing up was mind blowing

825
00:52:45,000 --> 00:52:48,599
to me. I looked around it and inside of it,

826
00:52:48,880 --> 00:52:52,880
but oddly enough, there was nothing else. I thought i'd

827
00:52:52,920 --> 00:52:55,960
find a bunch of stuff left behind, but there wasn't

828
00:52:56,000 --> 00:53:01,000
anything at all other than the tent itself. After a

829
00:53:01,000 --> 00:53:04,920
couple of minutes, I went back to the trail. I

830
00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:07,440
thought about it for a while, but couldn't come up

831
00:53:07,480 --> 00:53:09,840
with any good reasons to leave a tent like that.

832
00:53:11,639 --> 00:53:13,760
As I walked for the last hour and a half

833
00:53:13,800 --> 00:53:18,119
of the trail, I came across dozens of left behind objects.

834
00:53:18,880 --> 00:53:22,239
All of them were camping or hiking equipment. But seeing

835
00:53:22,280 --> 00:53:25,400
all of this stuff scattered around a four mile trail

836
00:53:25,760 --> 00:53:31,559
gave me an uneasy feeling. Who would leave everything behind?

837
00:53:32,199 --> 00:53:35,159
It was definitely not an accident, and I was pretty

838
00:53:35,199 --> 00:53:39,760
sure it was all from one person. When I got

839
00:53:39,760 --> 00:53:41,719
to the end, I set up my tent a good

840
00:53:41,760 --> 00:53:45,400
distance away from the trail, just to be safe. It

841
00:53:45,519 --> 00:53:47,800
was getting dark already, so I stayed at my camp

842
00:53:47,840 --> 00:53:51,280
site until I was ready to sleep. I felt a

843
00:53:51,280 --> 00:53:53,440
bit nervous to go to bed, but I was able

844
00:53:53,480 --> 00:53:58,000
to sleep through the whole night without issue. When I

845
00:53:58,079 --> 00:54:00,880
got up, it was early in the morning, around four

846
00:54:00,960 --> 00:54:04,719
or five, so the sun wasn't fully up yet. I

847
00:54:04,800 --> 00:54:08,559
unzipped my tent and stepped out, but right away I

848
00:54:08,639 --> 00:54:13,480
could tell something was wrong. I turned around and on

849
00:54:13,519 --> 00:54:16,639
the other side of my tent a man stood just

850
00:54:16,679 --> 00:54:20,639
a few feet away. He was tall and thin, wearing

851
00:54:20,719 --> 00:54:24,679
disgusting clothes, and his face was covered in dirt and grime.

852
00:54:25,920 --> 00:54:30,679
He looked at me with this empty stare. I stood

853
00:54:30,719 --> 00:54:34,519
there motionless. In the moment, I was so shocked and

854
00:54:34,639 --> 00:54:40,079
scared it almost didn't even seem real. Leave, he spoke,

855
00:54:40,199 --> 00:54:44,719
in a soft, yet creepy tone. I nodded and quickly

856
00:54:44,760 --> 00:54:48,960
started gathering my backpack, but he immediately rushed toward me.

857
00:54:50,039 --> 00:54:52,239
I fell back, and all I could give myself to

858
00:54:52,280 --> 00:54:57,119
say was okay, repeating it over and over. The man

859
00:54:57,159 --> 00:55:01,840
stood over me, still with that empty look in his eye. Leave,

860
00:55:03,039 --> 00:55:06,800
he said again. I understood what he meant. This time,

861
00:55:06,960 --> 00:55:10,559
and quickly got up and rushed away, leaving everything behind.

862
00:55:12,079 --> 00:55:14,360
I took one look back as I got out of there,

863
00:55:14,679 --> 00:55:17,559
and the man was rummaging through my backpack like a

864
00:55:17,639 --> 00:55:22,360
curious animal. I jogged as far as I could, then

865
00:55:22,440 --> 00:55:24,760
fast walked the rest of the way to my car.

866
00:55:25,599 --> 00:55:27,960
Thank god I kept my phone in keys in my pocket,

867
00:55:28,320 --> 00:55:31,119
or this situation could have been a hundred times worse.

868
00:55:32,679 --> 00:55:35,519
I drove out until I got service, then called nine

869
00:55:35,599 --> 00:55:39,559
one one. I found out that there was an almost

870
00:55:39,559 --> 00:55:43,679
identical case to what I experienced, but whoever filed it

871
00:55:43,960 --> 00:55:46,960
chose for it to not be publicly announced by the media.

872
00:55:48,440 --> 00:55:51,559
This was likely the person whose tent and belongings I

873
00:55:51,639 --> 00:55:55,480
found on the trail. After a week of talking to

874
00:55:55,519 --> 00:55:58,400
the police and going over everything, they were able to

875
00:55:58,519 --> 00:56:02,599
organize a small search party of officers. They went down

876
00:56:02,639 --> 00:56:05,800
the trail and came back with no sightings or evidence

877
00:56:05,800 --> 00:56:08,559
of the man, but they found most of my stuff

878
00:56:08,760 --> 00:56:14,599
nearby my campsite, tossed around like trash. After that, the

879
00:56:14,719 --> 00:56:19,599
case went stale, just like the previous persons. The thing

880
00:56:19,679 --> 00:56:22,599
I always come back to is how the man didn't

881
00:56:22,679 --> 00:56:26,199
keep anything, He just scattered it all around the forest

882
00:56:26,400 --> 00:56:41,280
with no intent of using any of it. Back in

883
00:56:41,360 --> 00:56:44,559
high school, my house had a huge backyard that was

884
00:56:44,559 --> 00:56:48,440
connected to a large forest. When we were kids, me

885
00:56:48,519 --> 00:56:50,760
and my friends would go and play games far out

886
00:56:50,760 --> 00:56:53,800
in the woods. There was always this small sense of

887
00:56:53,880 --> 00:56:57,679
danger being out there, which made things more fun. As

888
00:56:57,719 --> 00:57:00,320
we grew up, though, we stopped going out there because

889
00:57:00,320 --> 00:57:03,400
there was no point. But then one day me and

890
00:57:03,440 --> 00:57:06,239
my buddy Tyler were hanging out on the couch when

891
00:57:06,280 --> 00:57:08,599
he brought up this idea of going out into the

892
00:57:08,639 --> 00:57:12,679
woods late at night. Over the next few minutes, our

893
00:57:12,800 --> 00:57:16,000
idea evolved from just a simple walk in the woods

894
00:57:16,199 --> 00:57:20,719
to full long camping overnight. Tyler said his parents had

895
00:57:20,719 --> 00:57:23,159
a tent we could borrow, so we walked down the

896
00:57:23,199 --> 00:57:26,880
street and picked it up from his garage. Now's a

897
00:57:26,880 --> 00:57:29,440
good time to mention that neither of us had ever

898
00:57:29,480 --> 00:57:32,519
been camping before, so we had no idea what we

899
00:57:32,519 --> 00:57:35,960
were doing. Honestly, I don't think either of us thought

900
00:57:36,039 --> 00:57:38,639
anything of it though, because we would only be out

901
00:57:38,679 --> 00:57:42,719
there for a single night. After packing a bag with

902
00:57:42,760 --> 00:57:46,559
a bunch of snacks, water bottles, and a portable phone charger,

903
00:57:47,079 --> 00:57:51,480
we set foot in the woods. We found out within

904
00:57:51,519 --> 00:57:54,760
the first couple minutes that the flashlight Tyler brought was

905
00:57:54,840 --> 00:57:58,480
really shitty, barely lighting up more than a few feet ahead.

906
00:57:59,360 --> 00:58:01,719
It was enough to keep us from walking into trees

907
00:58:01,760 --> 00:58:06,480
and bushes, but we couldn't see much else. During the

908
00:58:06,480 --> 00:58:09,800
first fifteen minutes of walking, we talked about how excited

909
00:58:09,840 --> 00:58:12,079
we were and how creepy it was going to be.

910
00:58:13,079 --> 00:58:16,519
But then we walked for another fifteen minutes without really talking.

911
00:58:17,519 --> 00:58:19,880
I think we were both memorized and a little bit

912
00:58:19,920 --> 00:58:24,559
spooked by the eerie silence. A couple times I thought

913
00:58:24,599 --> 00:58:28,079
I heard something walking nearby, but the flashlight would never

914
00:58:28,159 --> 00:58:32,400
reach far enough to see anything. After our thirty minutes

915
00:58:32,400 --> 00:58:36,119
of walking, we found a place to set up. It

916
00:58:36,159 --> 00:58:39,000
was an open section of grass with trees around it.

917
00:58:40,360 --> 00:58:43,239
Tyler wedged the flashlight on top of a bush so

918
00:58:43,320 --> 00:58:45,719
that I lit up the area, and then we started

919
00:58:45,719 --> 00:58:48,920
setting up the tent. He said it was an easy

920
00:58:48,920 --> 00:58:53,159
assemble tent, but there was nothing easy about it. We

921
00:58:53,320 --> 00:58:56,079
probably spent an hour to get the tent to stand

922
00:58:56,199 --> 00:59:00,159
up without falling in on itself. It also didn't help

923
00:59:00,320 --> 00:59:03,000
that every time we'd hear something, we'd have to grab

924
00:59:03,039 --> 00:59:05,719
the flashlight out of the bush. And shine it around,

925
00:59:06,199 --> 00:59:08,679
then set it back up and start over on the tent.

926
00:59:10,119 --> 00:59:12,880
I don't know about Tyler, but at this point I

927
00:59:12,960 --> 00:59:17,159
was regretting coming out there. When we did eventually get

928
00:59:17,199 --> 00:59:19,840
the tent up, though, it was a lot less stressful.

929
00:59:21,039 --> 00:59:24,000
We sat inside and listened to the sounds of the woods.

930
00:59:25,320 --> 00:59:29,280
It would be completely silent sometimes then a minute later

931
00:59:29,440 --> 00:59:33,280
there would be birds chirping or some other animal making noises.

932
00:59:34,599 --> 00:59:38,119
It was a really cool experience until we both heard

933
00:59:38,360 --> 00:59:44,519
a more familiar sound. We stayed in the tent listening

934
00:59:44,559 --> 00:59:48,639
as these footsteps made their way around the trees. They

935
00:59:48,639 --> 00:59:51,719
didn't sound like they were getting closer, but more like

936
00:59:51,800 --> 00:59:56,360
they were passing by. One thing we were both sure

937
00:59:56,360 --> 01:00:00,000
of was that they were human footsteps, not any other

938
01:00:00,079 --> 01:00:04,599
their animal. After a minute, they were gone, but me

939
01:00:04,679 --> 01:00:07,840
and Tyler stayed quiet, staring at the inside of the

940
01:00:07,880 --> 01:00:12,960
tent as we listened carefully. Around ten minutes later, once

941
01:00:13,000 --> 01:00:16,320
we were sure whoever that was was long gone, we

942
01:00:16,480 --> 01:00:20,400
left the tent and sat outside instead. We both felt

943
01:00:20,440 --> 01:00:23,920
a little too vulnerable sitting inside there without being able

944
01:00:23,960 --> 01:00:27,719
to see what was going on around us. As we

945
01:00:27,760 --> 01:00:31,480
sat and talked for a while, that same sound started

946
01:00:31,480 --> 01:00:36,159
coming up in the distance. This time it was getting closer.

947
01:00:37,639 --> 01:00:40,800
It eventually got so close that we were worried they

948
01:00:40,800 --> 01:00:45,679
were coming directly at us. Tyler shined the flashlight in

949
01:00:45,719 --> 01:00:50,320
the direction of the footsteps, but the sound continued. They

950
01:00:50,360 --> 01:00:53,599
walked toward us slowly, and just when we thought the

951
01:00:53,599 --> 01:00:57,320
person would come into view of the flashlight, they stopped.

952
01:01:00,199 --> 01:01:04,280
They sounded so close enough for us to hear them breathing,

953
01:01:04,840 --> 01:01:09,320
but just barely outside of the light. Both Tyler and

954
01:01:09,400 --> 01:01:13,519
I were frozen, staring at the darkness beyond the flashlight.

955
01:01:15,000 --> 01:01:18,320
Then we heard them take one step back, and then

956
01:01:18,360 --> 01:01:23,519
they began walking away. A minute later, the footsteps had disappeared,

957
01:01:23,719 --> 01:01:28,880
and the entire woods was silent again. We undid the

958
01:01:28,920 --> 01:01:33,280
tent as fast as possible and immediately left. We were

959
01:01:33,320 --> 01:01:36,719
so shaken up we didn't even follow the right way home,

960
01:01:37,000 --> 01:01:41,360
and somehow ended up on a neighboring street. We walked

961
01:01:41,400 --> 01:01:44,119
down to my house and stayed up the entire night

962
01:01:44,159 --> 01:01:47,800
in my room, talking about what happened or what could

963
01:01:47,840 --> 01:01:52,679
have happened. We never stepped foot inside those woods again,

964
01:01:53,159 --> 01:01:57,360
and even today I stayed far away from anywhere, isolated.

965
01:01:58,360 --> 01:02:01,760
Whoever that person was out there alone in the woods

966
01:02:01,760 --> 01:02:05,119
at night had to be up to something awful, and

967
01:02:05,239 --> 01:02:19,239
I think we were really close to finding out. It

968
01:02:19,360 --> 01:02:21,800
was early March and i'd taken my camper out for

969
01:02:21,840 --> 01:02:25,440
a midweek camping trip. The woods right outside my house

970
01:02:25,480 --> 01:02:27,760
had plenty of dirt paths big enough to fit my

971
01:02:27,840 --> 01:02:30,719
truck with the camper attached, so I would often find

972
01:02:30,760 --> 01:02:33,039
myself staying out there for a couple nights a few

973
01:02:33,039 --> 01:02:36,639
times a month. My favorite spot was down a small

974
01:02:36,679 --> 01:02:39,760
trail that went out by a lake. The lake itself

975
01:02:39,840 --> 01:02:42,079
was huge, but the spot I always went to was

976
01:02:42,119 --> 01:02:45,159
secluded and far too random for most people to go to.

977
01:02:46,920 --> 01:02:49,199
When I got out there in the morning, I detached

978
01:02:49,199 --> 01:02:51,559
the camper from my truck and got my bag together

979
01:02:51,599 --> 01:02:54,679
for a hike. There weren't any trails out here from

980
01:02:54,719 --> 01:02:57,159
what I knew, but hiking along the lake was still

981
01:02:57,199 --> 01:03:00,400
a nice walk and assured me that I wouldn't get lost.

982
01:03:01,320 --> 01:03:03,800
Only a few minutes walk from my camper, though, I

983
01:03:03,920 --> 01:03:08,840
came across something really strange. It was a trailer wedged

984
01:03:08,880 --> 01:03:12,320
between a couple of trees, looking rugged and old, almost

985
01:03:12,320 --> 01:03:14,679
like it had been out here for years. But I

986
01:03:14,679 --> 01:03:17,599
had been this way before, and it definitely wasn't here

987
01:03:17,719 --> 01:03:20,719
last time, so someone had to have moved it recently.

988
01:03:22,239 --> 01:03:24,880
I stayed for a little bit, keeping my distance, but

989
01:03:25,039 --> 01:03:26,920
trying to see if there was any sign of someone

990
01:03:27,000 --> 01:03:31,079
living there. In all honesty, taking just one look at

991
01:03:31,119 --> 01:03:33,880
it gave me the feeling that this was purposefully hidden,

992
01:03:34,400 --> 01:03:38,079
maybe to cover something up. From what I could see,

993
01:03:38,199 --> 01:03:40,880
it had no signs of being lived in recently, which

994
01:03:40,880 --> 01:03:45,159
only made my suspicions grow. Why would someone go through

995
01:03:45,159 --> 01:03:47,719
the effort to move a beat up trailer through the

996
01:03:47,760 --> 01:03:52,239
woods into such a secluded area. My gut was telling

997
01:03:52,280 --> 01:03:54,920
me to leave, but something about it pulled me in

998
01:03:55,079 --> 01:03:56,719
enough to get me to knock on the door to

999
01:03:56,760 --> 01:04:02,000
the trailer. Nobody he answered, and there was no movement

1000
01:04:02,039 --> 01:04:06,559
from inside. I knocked one more time, with no more sounds,

1001
01:04:06,679 --> 01:04:10,360
I left it and walked back to my camper. The

1002
01:04:10,440 --> 01:04:13,199
trailer was on my mind for the next several hours

1003
01:04:13,239 --> 01:04:16,800
while I sat outside and got my campfire going. Once

1004
01:04:16,840 --> 01:04:19,159
the sun set and the stars came out, though, I

1005
01:04:19,320 --> 01:04:23,079
was back to enjoying my night. I was sitting on

1006
01:04:23,119 --> 01:04:26,320
a small chair and looking up, just taking in the peacefulness,

1007
01:04:26,760 --> 01:04:30,760
when the unmistakable sound of footsteps crunched the leaves from

1008
01:04:30,800 --> 01:04:35,000
somewhere out in the woods behind me. I turned and

1009
01:04:35,079 --> 01:04:38,639
saw a light steadily going between the trees as whoever

1010
01:04:38,760 --> 01:04:42,719
was out there walked through the woods. Seeing someone out

1011
01:04:42,760 --> 01:04:45,519
here was really strange, so I kept my eye on

1012
01:04:45,639 --> 01:04:48,639
them as they continued toward the lake, but then the

1013
01:04:48,760 --> 01:04:53,599
light suddenly shut off. I stared off into the darkness

1014
01:04:53,719 --> 01:04:57,760
for a while, looking for any movement, but couldn't see anything.

1015
01:04:59,320 --> 01:05:02,519
Then the faint sound of footsteps started again, coming in

1016
01:05:02,599 --> 01:05:06,639
my direction. They were subtle, clearly trying to be as

1017
01:05:06,760 --> 01:05:13,360
quiet as possible. I stood up, Hey, what do you want?

1018
01:05:14,800 --> 01:05:17,880
The footsteps stopped, sounding like they were just a few

1019
01:05:17,960 --> 01:05:21,480
yards from me. I waited for a response or some

1020
01:05:21,559 --> 01:05:24,519
kind of movement, but there was nothing for what felt

1021
01:05:24,519 --> 01:05:28,000
like an entire minute, until they finally started backing up.

1022
01:05:29,440 --> 01:05:31,800
I heard the steps fade out into the woods, and

1023
01:05:31,840 --> 01:05:34,519
I put two and two together, realizing he was going

1024
01:05:34,519 --> 01:05:38,639
in the direction of the abandoned trailer. After his really

1025
01:05:38,719 --> 01:05:42,199
strange behavior. In thinking about the trailer some more, I

1026
01:05:42,320 --> 01:05:46,159
was not going to risk staying the night. I packed

1027
01:05:46,239 --> 01:05:49,239
up and reattached my camper to the truck, then turned

1028
01:05:49,239 --> 01:05:52,840
my brights on and carefully drove down the path. It

1029
01:05:52,880 --> 01:05:55,280
took a while, but I made it out and decided

1030
01:05:55,280 --> 01:05:57,840
to call the police to report the strange behavior of

1031
01:05:57,880 --> 01:06:01,880
the man as well as the trailer. In the morning,

1032
01:06:02,159 --> 01:06:04,960
I took two officers out to where I saw the trailer,

1033
01:06:05,440 --> 01:06:08,320
but it was gone, And to make it all even

1034
01:06:08,360 --> 01:06:11,960
more crazy, there were clear trails on the ground showing

1035
01:06:12,000 --> 01:06:14,599
the trailer having been dragged all the way up to

1036
01:06:14,639 --> 01:06:19,760
the lake, where the marks faded into the waterline. Whatever

1037
01:06:19,800 --> 01:06:22,480
that trailer was hiding now sits at the bottom of

1038
01:06:22,559 --> 01:06:26,800
the lake, completely inaccessible, and no evidence ever came up

1039
01:06:26,880 --> 01:06:29,960
to warrant the retrieval of the trailer, so everything is

1040
01:06:30,039 --> 01:06:34,400
just left as a mystery. It's terrifying to think what

1041
01:06:34,440 --> 01:06:36,559
that man could have done to me had he caught

1042
01:06:36,559 --> 01:06:40,400
me by the trailer he was hiding, and unfortunately I'll

1043
01:06:40,440 --> 01:06:43,679
always be haunted with the mystery of what was behind

1044
01:06:43,920 --> 01:07:01,639
that door. I'm twenty eight and live in Ille. If

1045
01:07:01,679 --> 01:07:04,519
you've ever been here, you know this state is completely

1046
01:07:04,599 --> 01:07:07,039
flat and doesn't have much to do in terms of

1047
01:07:07,119 --> 01:07:12,440
hiking or camping, at least not with scenic views. This year,

1048
01:07:12,559 --> 01:07:14,840
I tried to go camping for the first time in

1049
01:07:14,880 --> 01:07:18,880
a secluded forest. I thought it would be the perfect

1050
01:07:18,960 --> 01:07:22,280
starter camping trip, since the land was flat and the

1051
01:07:22,360 --> 01:07:25,880
trail was mostly a straight shot. At the end was

1052
01:07:25,920 --> 01:07:28,360
supposed to be a small pond, so at least there

1053
01:07:28,360 --> 01:07:32,119
would be somewhat of a nice view. The hiking part

1054
01:07:32,199 --> 01:07:35,639
was short, being just under an hour, but the pond

1055
01:07:35,639 --> 01:07:38,679
at the end was very underwhelming, to say the least.

1056
01:07:39,320 --> 01:07:42,840
It was very small and surrounded by swampy mush, so

1057
01:07:42,920 --> 01:07:45,159
I had to put my tent further down into the

1058
01:07:45,199 --> 01:07:50,079
forest where the ground was dry. I'll admit though, after

1059
01:07:50,159 --> 01:07:54,199
an hour or two I was really bored. I decided

1060
01:07:54,199 --> 01:07:56,559
to get up and walk around the pond just to

1061
01:07:56,559 --> 01:08:01,079
see what was around. I wandered to the side, and

1062
01:08:01,280 --> 01:08:04,320
really there wasn't much to see. It was a peaceful

1063
01:08:04,320 --> 01:08:07,800
and beautiful forest, but there were no defining landmarks of

1064
01:08:07,840 --> 01:08:10,480
any kind, so it was kind of just the same

1065
01:08:10,559 --> 01:08:15,039
forest all around. I started making my way back to

1066
01:08:15,079 --> 01:08:18,119
my camp, and by then the sun was mostly gone.

1067
01:08:19,560 --> 01:08:22,279
I brought a small fire starter, so I used that

1068
01:08:22,399 --> 01:08:24,880
to get a campfire going and heat up some food.

1069
01:08:25,640 --> 01:08:29,560
But not long after sunset, I noticed a light across

1070
01:08:29,600 --> 01:08:33,119
the pond. It was in the trees, just outside of

1071
01:08:33,119 --> 01:08:36,479
the pond, but it was right where I had walked earlier,

1072
01:08:36,880 --> 01:08:39,560
and I knew there was nothing there just an hour ago.

1073
01:08:41,479 --> 01:08:44,039
While it was uncomforting being out in a forest with

1074
01:08:44,079 --> 01:08:48,279
some stranger or possibly strangers, I knew that this was

1075
01:08:48,319 --> 01:08:51,319
one of few camping trails around here, so the odds

1076
01:08:51,319 --> 01:08:55,239
of it weren't too crazy. I went about my night,

1077
01:08:55,560 --> 01:09:00,000
looking across the pond every so often. As it got darker, though,

1078
01:09:00,600 --> 01:09:04,199
this light that I thought was a campfire became more apparent,

1079
01:09:04,760 --> 01:09:08,279
and I realized it was a flashlight or some sort

1080
01:09:08,279 --> 01:09:12,439
of mechanical light. I wasn't sure what to make of it,

1081
01:09:12,880 --> 01:09:15,560
but an hour more into the night, I saw from

1082
01:09:15,600 --> 01:09:19,119
the corner of my eye the light started dimming, and then,

1083
01:09:19,159 --> 01:09:23,479
after a few flickers, it went out. I stared at

1084
01:09:23,479 --> 01:09:26,239
the dark and empty forest across the pond for a

1085
01:09:26,279 --> 01:09:29,279
good ten minutes, waiting for the light to come back up,

1086
01:09:29,720 --> 01:09:34,119
but it never did. It gave me chills, but again

1087
01:09:34,479 --> 01:09:38,239
I had no idea what to make of it. The

1088
01:09:38,279 --> 01:09:42,119
rest of the night was surprisingly quiet. I slept, and

1089
01:09:42,199 --> 01:09:46,840
as far as I'm aware, nothing happened overnight. As the

1090
01:09:46,880 --> 01:09:50,680
sun rose, I prepared for another walk. I was still

1091
01:09:50,720 --> 01:09:54,159
thinking about that light I saw and really wanted some answers.

1092
01:09:55,319 --> 01:09:57,439
I walked around to the other side of the pond

1093
01:09:57,560 --> 01:10:00,680
where I saw the light coming from, and sir around.

1094
01:10:02,039 --> 01:10:05,279
It didn't take long for me to find the culprit,

1095
01:10:05,680 --> 01:10:11,159
a hefty flashlight laying in the grass. The batteries were drained,

1096
01:10:11,399 --> 01:10:15,199
but it looked pretty new, no scratches or noticeable way

1097
01:10:15,279 --> 01:10:19,399
and tear. I looked around some more and saw nothing

1098
01:10:19,399 --> 01:10:25,199
else to indicate someone being here. After some thought, I

1099
01:10:25,279 --> 01:10:27,760
decided to leave the flashlight where I found it and

1100
01:10:27,800 --> 01:10:30,640
started heading back to my camp, but stopped in my

1101
01:10:30,840 --> 01:10:35,399
tracks when I saw someone across the pond. They were

1102
01:10:35,439 --> 01:10:38,680
standing by my fire pit in the middle of my camp.

1103
01:10:39,720 --> 01:10:42,199
Then I saw another person come out of the trees

1104
01:10:42,239 --> 01:10:46,199
and join them. It looked like two adult men, but

1105
01:10:46,319 --> 01:10:49,840
that's all I could tell from where I was. I

1106
01:10:49,920 --> 01:10:52,680
was too scared to yell or say anything, so I

1107
01:10:52,840 --> 01:10:55,600
just watched as they walked around my camp and looked

1108
01:10:55,640 --> 01:10:59,600
through my things. Then one of them stopped and turned

1109
01:10:59,600 --> 01:11:03,960
to face the pond. He stood there, scanning the tree

1110
01:11:04,039 --> 01:11:07,640
line where I was standing until he was looking right

1111
01:11:07,720 --> 01:11:10,920
at me. He only looked at me for a moment,

1112
01:11:11,359 --> 01:11:15,439
but it sent shivers through me. I watched the man

1113
01:11:15,600 --> 01:11:19,680
leave the camp and start walking between the trees. I

1114
01:11:19,760 --> 01:11:22,479
lost sight of him for a moment, until I caught

1115
01:11:22,479 --> 01:11:27,359
a glimpse of him sprinting through the forest. I ran

1116
01:11:27,439 --> 01:11:31,439
further into the forest, away from the pond. I knew

1117
01:11:31,479 --> 01:11:34,840
the chances of them finding me were near zero, but

1118
01:11:34,960 --> 01:11:38,720
I was too scared to think straight. I ran for

1119
01:11:38,840 --> 01:11:42,239
probably fifteen minutes before I stopped and turned in the

1120
01:11:42,279 --> 01:11:46,920
general direction of my car. Luckily I made it safely,

1121
01:11:47,279 --> 01:11:51,439
but I lost everything I had to put it shortly.

1122
01:11:52,119 --> 01:11:56,479
Nothing happened afterwards. I filed a report with the police,

1123
01:11:56,800 --> 01:12:01,760
but it all turned to nothing. That flashlight a lot, though.

1124
01:12:02,560 --> 01:12:07,159
Was it those men's or was it someone else's. I

1125
01:12:07,239 --> 01:12:09,800
hope the flashlight was just a ploy they used to

1126
01:12:09,800 --> 01:12:12,359
get me away from the camp. But if it was,

1127
01:12:12,880 --> 01:12:16,560
then why would they come after me. I keep trying

1128
01:12:16,560 --> 01:12:19,479
to convince myself that it was just a robbery and

1129
01:12:19,560 --> 01:12:23,239
they had no other intentions. But in my gut, I

1130
01:12:23,399 --> 01:12:26,359
know that I likely came close to never making it

1131
01:12:26,399 --> 01:12:27,560
out of that forest.