FYI This happened today, and in talking about it with my
dear friend, Lori, we agreed it should be passed on so that if any of you are
planning on riding/biking/hiking near Coon Bluff, you can make sure to be on
the lookout.
Today I hauled Chase to Coon Bluff and rode for about 6
hours. Afterward, I was getting him ready to haul home, and we were the only
ones in the parking lot/staging area.
In the process of putting everything away, I had seen a blue
van drive past the parking lot toward the picnic area of Coon Bluff and thought
nothing of it. I was just about to load Chase in the back, get in the truck and
drive home.
As I finished locking the tack room door, I heard a vehicle
pulling into the lot VERY SLOWLY. Instead of untying Chase, I walked to the back
of the trailer to put the ramp down and see what or who was pulling in. A man
in a blue van pulled up RIGHT BEHIND the trailer and stopped.
I looked up and he said hello and asked me how I was. I said
hello, and before I could ask him to move his van, he said, 'you look like
you're just finishing up riding.' I replied that yes, it had been a long day
and I'm bout to load my horse to take him home. He asked me if his van was in
the way! I looked at him and said, YES; to put this in perspective, Chase would
not have had quite enough room to approach the ramp's end to walk up and into
the trailer. ??
I told the man, 'I want you to back way up so that you don't
spook my horse!' I wasn't exactly mean, but I was NOT pleasant. This guy was up
to no good, and there's NO question in my mind about that!
Well, he just sat there for a few seconds! I put the ramp
down, took my phone off my belt and texted David that I may need help. Next I
walked to the truck and got the pistol. I know for sure the man saw me on my phone,
but I am not 100% certain he saw the gun in my hand at my side.
He did, however, back up, but continued to sit there! I
untied Chase and loaded him into the trailer. (And yes, the gun was inside the
trailer with me.) At that point, the man backed up a little more and then VERY
SLOWLY drove VERY CLOSELY to the right of my setup, and stopped. I secured
Chase and exited the trailer ramp. I looked at the man, and without saying
another word, he drove out of the parking lot VERY slowly. As I watched, he turned
toward the picnic area of Coon Bluff, or so I thought.
I had secured Chase, but after the man left, I went back
into the trailer to put Chase's fly mask on since I hadn't taken the time to do
it while that man was sitting there. Well, as I walked down the ramp, Chase
started fidgeting BIGTIME! That was a big red flag because the first thing
Chase does is start eating his hay packed in the bag for the ride home.
I calmed him down, stepped down the ramp, put it up, and
Chase again was fidgeting, stamping his feet, pulling up his head and trying to
look backwards! I looked toward the area Chase was trying to look in and there
was someone walking among the trees, and I THINK it was that man!! When I saw
the person walking, I knew it was not a hiker. This person was stealthily
walking, as if wanting to stay out of sight. This is not an overreaction or
exaggeration. I'm not 100% positive, though, either because I wasn't going to
stand there forever waiting to see what was up. I quickly got into the truck
and left.
The man was bald on top and had a little hair above both
ears, light in color. He had on wire-rimmed, old-fashioned, dark sunglasses and
a blue short-sleeve shirt; he's probably mid 50's to mid 60's from what I could
tell, and appeared to be heavy set (he didn't get out of the vehicle, but
looking at him in the van, he definitely appeared to be heavy set).
PLEASE watch out for him when you're out there? I am
listening to my gut, and I trust my horse's intuition. I know FOR SURE that man
was looking for trouble!
Chase SELDOM gets excited! Before I untied him from the
trailer to load him, he was pulling on the lead rope so hard I was afraid he
was going to break the loop off the trailer! Chase just does NOT act that way
unless something's not right.
You can tell if someone's being pleasant or if someone's
acting in a way that's definitely not good, and my stomach was speaking volumes
to me!
He did not ask for directions, he did not ask for water, he
did not ask if I'd seen so-and-so, he did not get out to start hiking or to
take pictures; in other words, he had NO REASON to be there, and he certainly
had NO REASON to park directly behind my trailer and act the way he did! He had
ill intentions in mind!!
When he saw me on my phone, I think he figured I was not
going to be an easy mark, and I believe that's why he drove away.
Please be careful and keep your eyes open out there.
·
Susie
Westervelt YES! OMG! I
forgot all about this. Last week on your birthday I saw a man in a blue mini
van (kind of like a Grand Caravan) (similar to Marty's) checking out your truck
and trailer. I thought it was Marty and so I pulled in by your trailer. I also thought
I'd time it so I could take some photos of you and Dave on the horses. This man
was not happy I was there and was really checking me out. My intuition told me
he was up to no good even though he was in his van. I actually wondered if he
was going to break into your truck or trailer. He was exactly how you described
him. So I kept driving up and down past the parking area and circling in the
area until he left. I kept giving him dirty looks and hoping you and David
would show up. He did get out and stare at me once and had on a white t-shirt
and he was fat. He finally left. Carol, wear your gun! I am buying one after
the holidays.
Carol
Kolmer-Chase OMG, Susie, thank you for posting this!!! That's exactly
what he was driving!! WTH?? I have NO idea who he is, but I DO know he is up to
no good out there. I am going to notify the sheriff's department, although, I'm
not sure they can really do anything unless the guy commits a crime. It's
pissing me off, though, because I'm a little nervous now about going out there
alone during the week. I should not have to be afraid!!! I will say this, though;
I will now be wearing the pistol on my belt!
Susie
Westervelt Wear it, but
make sure you know how to use it. I never gave it another thought until I saw
this post. So we know he was hanging out at your truck/trailer two days!
Carol
Kolmer-Chase Yep, I know how
to use it. I would not want to, but IF I had to, I would. The way he pulled
alongside my truck/trailer, if I hadn't moved to the back, he easily could have
grabbed me and thrown me in that van. No one would have seen because my
truck/trailer would have blocked the view from the road and the rest of the
parking lot! That's frightening!
Susie
Westervelt Make sure you
tell them it is not Marty's van with the Washington plates.
Carol
Kolmer-Chase Definitely! And
I know what Marty looks like; this guy was NOT Marty.
Susie
Westervelt I know! Wow, I
need to go take target practice and find a pistol.
Cherie
Robinson I think I've
seen him too, he wasn't doing anything except driving back and forth down the
road, and he would pull into the back parking lot and drive through and then
just leave again, but a little later he would do it again. I never saw him do
anything else, but he sends off a very bad vibe!
Carol
Kolmer-Chase Please be
careful, Cherie;
you go out there alone, too, sometimes I think. This sucks! I've had some
stress I'm dealing with, and twice in the last week, I've decided at the last
minute to go out there to ride. Now this guy makes me second-guess my decision
to do so!!! However, I refuse to give him that power!
Catherine
Peterson I am glad you
had your pistol with you. Since you are out there frequently by yourself I
would like to see you get a good belt and holster. WEAR your gun. I do
frequently. I occasionally feel silly about it, but what you just described is
one of the reasons I do.
Lori
Walker He's definitely
up to something and now to find out he's staking out your trailer. Creeper!
Christine
Sterling A good thing to
do is also always check your hitch. A fiend of mine rode back to her trailer in
that area and noticed someone by her truck. He left when she rode up. She lost
her trailer halfway home. They think she interrupted someone trying to steal
her truck - easier to get away with and less noticeable than the whole rig.
Catherine
Peterson It also would
not be a bad idea to call the police and report the incident
Keith Kuttler Carol, report the incident to the
police.
Keith Kuttler They will do a miscellaneous report and
hopefully give the area extra patrols.
Debbie
Ricketts Don't go alone
anymore Carol. That's two incidences you've encountered. Not safe right now.
Lisa
Marie Magoch Johnson Definitely
make sure you go with someone from now on and send out a police report. There
may be others on file. Very scary.
Susie
Westervelt I bought a book
in 1999 that you can still purchase on Amazon. "The Gift of Fear" by
Gavin De Becker. This book taught me how to listen to my gut instinct and
intuition instead of ignoring it. Your stomach was telling you to get out of
there quickly and you listened. Thank heavens you did.
Carol
Kolmer-Chase I hear
you, Debbie,
but that's just so wrong that we can't go enjoy the outdoors!!! I refuse to let
some shady character keep me from what I love to do. Believe me, I'll be
careful, and I'll be smart and aware. There are a couple other people I
know who ride out there alone as well, and like me, they carry a weapon as
well as their cell phone. Also, when I ride alone out there, I do not ride all
over like I do when with someone else.
Gail Sand Omg, thank goodness you are ok!
Mary
Noble do you think he
is the naked guy that hangs out there?
Carol
Kolmer-Chase That's actually
a very good question, Mary! To be honest, I looked away from the naked
guy so fast that I didn't get a real good look at his face, BUT, I did notice
the naked guy is heavy set, and so is the guy in the van! WHY are people SO
strange? Ugh!
Jan Pugh Carol, wasn't it you that saw some guy
lurking in some trees that your horse alerted you to? If so was it in this same
area and could it be the same guy?
Carol
Kolmer-Chase Yes, Jan, that was me. It's near the same area, but
the guy behind the tree had dark hair and appeared larger than the guy in the
van, although, that was a pretty quick glance I got of him. That means there's
much more room for me to be mistaken about that. David and I did tell the
police about that occurrence, and they told us there are a lot of transients in
that area. **sigh** In my mind, that means they should be patrolling over there
more often than they are! ??
Susie
Westervelt Carol, I would
stop at the substation at Goldfield and speak personally with the deputies
there. I would also speak to a ranger when you see one.
Christine
Sterling Carol - yes, her horses were fine. The trailer
hit the back of her truck and she was able to stop it. It scared her to death
though.
Carol
Kolmer-Chase Oh, Christine, I can imagine it scared her to death! I'm
sitting here in tears just thinking about it!!!! It's weird; I have trouble
standing up for myself, always have had, BUT, if someone messes with someone I
love, INCLUDING my animals, LOOK OUT! Seriously, I would have to hunt that
person down 'til I found them! Thank God her horses were ok, that poor girl.
·
Catherine Peterson Always check your hitch before you
leave. It's possible the person was trying to steal the truck. It's also
possible they just wanted to have your trailer come off the pickup. That sort
of vandalism has happened around the country from anti horse people and general
&$;)$. I had someone take part of my hitch apart at west world. Fortunately
they didn't know what they doing and only took the chains off. And if course
that evening I broke my own rule and didn't check my hitch because we were at a
"horse" place. So now I check everywhere.
Carol
Kolmer-Chase OMG, Catherine, at Westworld?? Thank God they didn't know
what they were doing! People are so disappointing sometimes. I just
don't understand WHY anyone would want to do such a thing.
Kathleen McDonald You really need to be careful. I think
it is a good idea to carry a pistol on your hip at all times. Some of the
things you talk about are scary and you are probably being watched. I don't
like it.
Carol
Kolmer-Chase Yeah, Kathleen, that's an especially good point ~ about
being watched!? That's very unsettling! I will be careful, and my husband most
definitely wants me to carry that gun on my hip now when I'm out there. He's
not thrilled I go out alone, but he does admire my tenacity and my not giving
up what I love because another person tries to take that control from me. This
may sound silly, but I do watch those FBI files shows and 20/20, etc. etc., and
have learned a lot! We all need to be fully aware of our surroundings at all
times (sad but true). xo
Kathleen McDonald Hubby is right!! I fully understand not
being able to do what you want!
Irene
E Schmidt Thanks for the
heads up better to be safe than sorry.
Carol
Kolmer-Chase Susie, I am taking a printed copy documenting what
happened yesterday to the Sheriff's station at Goldfield tomorrow. It includes
the encounter you had seeing that man near my truck/trailer last Tues. I just
want to make sure you're ok with me including that.
Susie
Westervelt Yes, because I
felt like he was scoping out your truck and trailer and was up to no good. A
gut instinct and the reason I kept my eye on him.
Carol
Kolmer-Chase Ok!!
Thanks, Susie,
and also THANK YOU for watching our truck that day! What a horrible
"birthday gift" that would have been for me.
Debbie
Ricketts What kind of gun
do you carry and where is good to take lessons
Sent from my iPad
Sent from my iPad
Carol
Kolmer-Chase Debbie, I am carrying right now a 357 Smith &
Wesson, although I'd like to get a smaller pistol eventually. I've been
shooting since I was a little kid actually; my dad taught me to shoot pistols
and shotguns. David and I go target shooting sometimes at Bass Pro shooting
range, and we've gone quite a few times out in the woods up in Prescott. I'm
not a "lover" of guns, but they do serve a good purpose if used the
right way.
Keith Kuttler Find an indoor range that will let you rent a
firearm. Try before you buy. 9mm, 40 smith and Wesson, .45 cal.. Look at
something that is simi-compact that has a comfortable grip.
No comments:
Post a Comment