Outdoor Safety:
Friendly Predators

Outdoor safety means knowing that friendly predators use charm to get near you or isolate you before they attack.

A young woman was staying with her family at a motel when she met a nice young man hobbling down the hall on crutches who asked her for help getting into his room. It was mid-day, he was well spoken and groomed, barely able to stand up, and her family was close by. Once again serial killer Ted Bundy snared a helpful victim.

You’ll instantly know a force predator – he’ll suddenly attack you from the open or from ambush. But a friendly predator will first try to lure you into a trap... then attack you.

A friendly predator may be good-looking, well dressed, charming, and acting oh so harmless to fool you into ignoring outdoor safety. He may have a uniform, official-looking vehicle, or a female partner. He may hold a baby in his arms and have a gun in his pocket.

The lures usually catch you by surprise and trap you in the blink of an eye. From clumsy to clever, all lures boil down to one simple warning sign: he’s trying to get near you or isolate you.

He told young women they were beautiful. He talked of fame and fortune, and billboards and television ads. Often just teenagers, vulnerable about their appearance, the girls trusted him. For years he preyed on their insecurities. "He was very convincing," said police. "He would flatter them, like, 'I'm recruiting models, you're perfect. Let me show you how to pose, how to walk.' That's how he got their confidence." He then lured them to secluded spots and raped them.
Excerpted from The Toronto Globe – 19 January 2004

Lures Offering Help
Lures include a mugger helping you with a flat tire on your parked car (that he’d flattened) to a serial rapist following a woman from a store to her car with a five-dollar bill he said she’d dropped. If she opened her window, he had her.

Anywhere from 50 to 2,500 serial killers operate in the United States at any one time – according to FBI estimates, as well as a far greater number of serial rapists and robbers. For outdoor safety, expect anything; suspect everything. You needn’t be paranoid, just warily skeptical of anyone approaching you.

A man stopped his car on a lonely road to tell a woman hiker of a rabid raccoon up ahead and offered her a ride past it. For outdoor safety, she declined and headed back home. Months later she saw him in the news for a series of rapes.

The two women were heading home. She said the (violent purse-snatcher) posed as a knight in shining armour, offering to escort them despite the women repeatedly insisting they did not need his company.
Excerpted from The Calgary Sun – 19 June 2006

Chadwick McCoy met the girl in a park and asked her to smoke some marijuana in his car. They drove downtown and parked behind a building. When the girl realized McCoy had no drugs, she tried to get out of the car and was attacked. After the rape, she said "He seemed like a nice guy, but then he changed like a demon taking over his body."
Excerpted from The Edmonton Sun – 03 June 2005

Joe Noriega lured the victims away by asking them if they wanted to be shown a shortcut home. But once the seemingly friendly man got the young victims away from the bus stops he violently raped them.
Excerpted from KFSN-ABC-30 (Fresno CA) – 01 December 2004

Lures Asking for Help
Predators often appeal to a victim's sympathy, like the man with a plaster cast on his arm asking a woman at a lakeside park to come help him with his boat. He crushed her skull with his phony plaster cast – another ploy of serial killer Ted Bundy. Later that day he used the same lure to kill a second woman.

She had been riding her bicycle to work when a driver asked her for directions. As she looked for a map, the man suddenly attacked her, forced her into the woods and raped her.
Excerpted from ABC News – 29 November 2004

Frankie was walking past a tavern late one night when a pretty woman staggered out the door and asked him to walk her home since she’d had too much to drink. Frankie was escorting her past an alley when two men suddenly appeared. She instantly sobered up as her partners mugged Frankie. A damsel in distress is an age-old lure.

Deborah was strolling in her quiet neighborhood when a man pulled up in a car to ask for directions. She began to direct him when he interrupted, “Please speak up, I can’t hear you.” As Deborah spoke louder and moved closer, he suddenly grabbed for her arm and began to open his car door. Dodging, she dashed away.

Don’t give directions. Just say, “Sorry, I don’t know.” Or, for outdoor safety, keep a safe distance (at least six feet) from any stranger and don’t turn your back to them while pointing out directions. Many crimes begin with initially non-threatening conversation. Especially beware of any physical interaction - stay at least six feet away.

"He'll approach someone, ask them for some change, make some small talk," Crime Stoppers' Kim Ogg explained. "But before you know it, the situation has gone violent." Police say the suspects act like homeless people - some people have tried to help, and they end up victims. "People are generous. They're unsuspecting," said Ogg. "They want to help..."
Excerpted from KTRK-TV13 Houston – 16 August 2004

Jason Finken approached two other women on a bike path before attacking his eventual victim. Finken said he asked one woman for the time, and gave directions to at least two other people. Later, Finken attacked a woman on the bike path, knocked her off her bicycle, and raped her at knifepoint.
Excerpted from The Express-Times (Easton PA) – 09 May 2003

Most attacks begin with a friendly predator "interviewing" you while getting into position to attack, warns Mark Mac Young, author of many street survival books. The selection process takes only a few seconds. He'll usually ask for a favor.

The most common set-up question is, “Excuse me, do you know the time?” He has an excuse to move closer as he gauges how hard or soft you are.

Stay away from anyone with sad stories, asking for directions or for the time, etc. A predator’s "conversation" is a form of testing. Tough targets tend not to be selected. Refuse all requests. You’re not obligated to chitchat. For outdoor safety, it's far better to overreact and be rude than to end up a victim.

See SET YOUR BOUNDARIES at Facing Danger and a A Victim’s Five Options - Overview for outdoor safety.

It’s impossible to fully anticipate the panicky chaos of a sudden threat forcing you to make split-second life-and-death decisions. Nonetheless, understanding your options now will help your Intuition choose an option then.

Personal Safety Devices

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Find Outdoor Safety for ALL types of street crime and stranger danger - as well as dog attack defense - by going to:

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