When this man was 13 or 14-years-old, he and his childhood best friend, Anthony, had a scary encounter.
Growing up, he and Anthony frequented the many walking and biking trails and forested areas, lucky enough to be located a 10-minute walk away from his house.
Anthony lived in the neighborhood across from him, so he often walked over to Anthony’s house to ask him to go bike riding. They enjoyed spending so much time outside.
One day, he and Anthony biked to the lake, which was a popular hangout spot for residents. Next to the local library was a trail that led up to the lake, and they decided to hang out at the trail’s entrance because it was right next to a tunnel that ran under the street above it. They chose this shady spot so that they could listen to music on their iPods with good amplification.
The tunnel was about 20 feet long, and the only easily accessible path to get back up to the street above it was a paved path to the side.
Also, the trail near where he and Anthony were hanging out was a gravel trail with trees on either side. There were no easy ways to get off of the trail while on a bike besides designated entrances and exits.
Everything was normal at first, but things quickly changed for the worse.
“Anthony and I were hanging out on the opposite side of the tunnel from the trail entrance so as not to bother any families getting on the trail with our music. We had our bikes leaned up on the side of the tunnel when I noticed a man coming through the opposite end, right next to the trail entrance. He entered the tunnel and, once he was about 15 feet away, called out, ‘I’m a police officer!'” he said.
Instantly, he and Anthony knew that this man was not, in fact, a police officer.
Feelm – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
“He was wearing cargo shorts, a green tank top, sandals, and a big military-style backpack. Even from about 15 feet away, I could tell that his skin looked really greasy, and his hair was unkempt,” he continued.
Luckily, he picked up on the red flags immediately and felt an adrenaline rush. He turned to Anthony and told him to run.
Quickly, Anthony started to ride away on his bike, but because the man was standing between them and the trail’s entrance, there weren’t many escape routes. They would need to either go past the man or in the completely opposite direction.
Anthony decided to bike towards the trail’s main entrance, past where the man was trying to block them. The man grabbed Anthony’s arm as he was riding past but seemed distracted.
“The man was more focused on me and ended up letting go of Anthony,” he shared.
After the man let go of Anthony’s arm, Anthony was able to escape. However, he knew that he couldn’t push past the man as easily and get away.
He tried to find another way out. Then, he noticed a small dirt trail near the end of the tunnel where he and Anthony had been hanging out.
He attempted to run with his bike up the trail, and the man yelled out, “‘Didn’t your parents ever teach you not to run from the cops?!?'”
Unfortunately, the trail he was attempting to escape through quickly became too narrow for him to continue running with his bike. He dropped his bike on the trail on the ground and kept running away from the man.
As he ran, he hoped for the trail to lead up to the street so that there would be witnesses if the man attempted to hurt him. Thankfully, the man only chased him halfway through the trail before giving up and turning around.
Later, he came out of the end of the trail at the local library. He ran back to the street above the tunnel to see if he could see what the man was doing below. Sadly, he saw the man riding off on his bike that he’d left behind on the dirt trail.
After the man rode away, he called the police with an account of what happened. Police officers met him at his house after he walked home. They presented him with a lineup of potential suspects, and he instantaneously identified the man.
It turned out that the man and his twin brother were homeless and had substance abuse issues. The brothers were known in the community for stealing bikes, but this was apparently the boldest attempt at theft that the police had seen before. Understandably, he feels lucky that the situation didn’t turn violent.
What would you have done if you were in his shoes?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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