Outdoor Safety
Predator's Favorite Targets

Outdoor Safety is knowing that Predators Hunt for Carefree Prey and learning how not to be their favorite target.

In retrospect, Melanie Gable said she should have listened to her internal alarm for outdoor safety that went off as she ran past the man sitting in the red Ford truck that was parked sideways in a driveway. He was watching her. ... Robin Carter drove past her, circled behind the homes in the neighborhood and came up behind her. When she turned around, Carter’s truck was coming towards her at full speed. ... “He smashed into my body. It threw me on the hood of his truck, broke my legs, tore my liver in half. And I rode on the hood of his truck until he hit the brakes and I went flying, landing on concrete. I had a head injury, broken right arm and two crushed vertebrae.” ... Gable said that Carter got out of the vehicle. She was lying on the ground and he was smiling down at her. She got up and tried to run, but he grabbed her. Neighbors came running. The assailant let go of me, and drove off."
Excerpted from The Colleyville News Courier (TX) – 14 February 2004

Self-confidence is a great side effect to any regular exercise routine, except that runners tend to take it to dangerous levels for outdoor safety. We refuse to let anything stop our daily runs, to the point that we are sliding down icy sidewalks during inclement weather, and – worse – jogging down dark alleys in the middle of the night to boost our weekly mileage. We start to believe that nothing can touch us. ... We find ourselves running the same lonely roads at odd hours, without a care in the world. Nothing has changed. It doesn’t matter if you feel amazing, and might not get to run for another two days. If you are the victim of a violent crime, you might not get to run again, ever. ... We’ve probably all heard the basics of safe running: run in pairs; run with a dog; carry a small bottle of pepper spray (caveat: it could be used against you); make a lot of noise if you fear an attack; and never, ever get into an unfamiliar vehicle. Ever. (by Sunni Thompson)
Excerpted from The Dallas Morning News – 02 July 2004

A man died yesterday after being beaten and robbed. After going for a walk to get some fresh air, he was wearing headphones when someone hit him on the head. The area where the attack occurred is one of the safest in the city. It was a neighborhood, a neighbor said, where people often did not feel the need to lock their houses. "There was no fear."
Excerpted from The Washington Post – 09 January 2006

Michael Flood, a research fellow with the Australia Institute, says there is evidence that some brothers or families may share rape-supportive attitudes towards women, such as "a belief in two types of women – good girls and sluts – where you can do whatever you like with sluts". ... Flood says some people believe that women "asked or deserved to be raped if they dress in revealing ways or if they accept drugs or an offer of a lift". He says there is a belief that such women "deserve whatever comes to them", because of "a hostility towards them and contempt of women, even a view of women as whores and bitches".
Excerpted from The Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) – 24 April 2004 [Beware of barbaric attitudes of alien cultures.]

• Someone looking friendly, timid, lost, absent-minded, or intoxicated – thus more easily manipulated.
• Someone wearing earphones or distracted with a payphone or cell phone – unaware of surroundings or outdoor safety.
• Someone unaware she's being followed until she's isolated.
• Someone “handcuffed” with both arms loaded with packages or a child.
• Someone enjoying the secluded countryside, beach, woods, parks, or lover’s lanes.

'I WAS THE FIRST TO RAPE HER'
The short, slight teenager in the court appeared far younger than his 17 years. He had been part of the gang of five that had accosted Tim Foord and his 21-year-old daughter, Jessica, while they were walking their dogs at the dam in the afternoon. And he also admitted that he was the first to rape Jessica Foord. ... He said he and his friends had come across the Foords playing with their dogs. "We immediately planned to rob them. Buto had a knife and Siyabonga had a toy gun. We accosted them by pointing a toy gun and a knife at them. We took them to the ditch where the father was bound with a rope on his arms and legs. I then approached the victim and started raping her. After I had finished, my other companions took turns each raping her.”
Excerpted from The Sunday Independent (South Africa) – 08 April 2008

The charming serial killer Ed Kemper used subtle manipulation to lure young coeds hitchhiking near the University of California in the 1970’s. In a prison interview, he told FBI serial killer expert John Douglas that he would pull over and ask the girl where she was going. Then, before agreeing to take her, he’d look tentatively at his watch – as though deciding if he had time enough to take her there. This made him appear to be a busy yet compassionate man not overly anxious to get her into his car – thereby dispelling any doubts the girl might have had about outdoor safety.

A retired handyman in upstate New York held five women captive as sex slaves in an underground bunker over a 15-year period. Some of the victims said they ignored outdoor safety and went willingly with him after being offered a ride or coaxed into his car.
Excerpted from USA TODAY – 10 June 2003

The young woman had been waiting at a bus stop to go home when Trevor Hamilton offered her a lift. She got into the car but instead of driving her home, Hamilton headed along a country road on the pretext he had to collect something from his mother's house. There Hamilton subjected her to a depraved ordeal that lasted for about an hour and only let her go when he forced her to swear on her son's life that she would not tell the police. She did lead police to him; he was arrested but served a mere three months. He soon raped another woman – then murdered her to ensure she wouldn’t tell the police.
Excerpted from The Belfast Telegraph (UK) – 12 April 2006

Robert Bonisteel said the two girls were hitchhiking when he picked them up. He describes stabbing one of the girls repeatedly in the back seat of his Fiat. "The other girl was scared now. I just remember telling her not to worry. As long as she does what she's told and all this stuff." Bonisteel then described in graphic detail how he later killed the other girl.
Excerpted from The Richmond Review (Canada) – 11 June 2005

Purse-snatcher Joe Ray Barela is accused of targeting parking lots all over the city preying on women leaving stores with their hands full.
Excerpted from KRQE-TV-13 Albuquerque – 08 September 2006

• Keep your hands free of packages – Ask for a male store employee to escort you into the parking lot.
• If anyone is loitering around your destination (home, business, or parked car), go instead to an active area. Running to your destination might be a bad idea. Unlocking a door in a panic may take too long – and then you can be pushed in. See Fleeing.
• Watch for anyone following you. Some rapists follow a woman home then push her in as she opens her door. She's better off outdoors while still able to summon help. Don’t go home unless someone is there who can truly help. Go instead to an active area for outdoor safety.
• Stay near other people. Avoid secluded areas. Don’t jog or bike alone and don’t assume early morning jogs avoid predators.
• Get other people to help. Give specific directions to onlookers, such as, "You! Call 911!" (free at payphones) or "Walk me to that store, I'm being followed." Many witnesses are too surprised to act unless ordered.
• Hide your jewelry. Even fake jewelry will attract a mugger. See stash clothing at www.magellans.com.
• Hide your wad of cash when shopping. Fold a dozen one- and five-dollar bills in half and position them in your pockets so you can withdraw them one at a time and not flash all your cash.
• Act nonchalant when taunted. Girls growing up in tough neighborhoods learn outdoor safety to deal with male advances and taunts by acting nonchalant – yet looking tough – not challenging him and never showing fear. See Victim’s Options - Overview.
• Know your destination to avoid getting lost or wandering into danger – and watch for anyone tailing you.

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.

Enhancing Your Options
Pepper Spray & a Noisemaker visibly ready will greatly enhance your first option – Posturing as a tough target – and probably deter a predator immediately. Your fifth option – Fighting – is enhanced as well.

For convenience, learn self-defense ONLINE:

KRAV MAGA, a practical self-defense system used by many police forces worldwide, teaches you to defend yourself, enhances your survival instinct, and can be applied under extreme stress. It's not flashy, just very effective. I highly recommend it. The Krav Maga TV - Online Training videos are especially convenient to learn at home when your schedule allows or if you don't live near a training center.

Find Outdoor Safety for parking lots, city streets, suburban byways, country roads, and secluded paths by going to:
• Outdoor Safety - Overview
• Friendly Predators first try to get near you to isolate and trap you, then attack you. Never forget that and you’ll never fall for a stranger’s lure.
• Force Predators: ambush zones revealed.
• Predator’s Favorite Targets (YOU’RE NOW ON THIS PAGE): how not to be one.
• Spotting Danger ahead of time, and sensing if someone is about to draw a weapon - and what to do before it's too late.
• Facing Danger: if you're already targeted in a robbery, purse snatching, rape or kidnapping attack, choose among the five outdoor safety options: Posturing, Fleeing, Outsmarting, Surrendering, or Fighting.
• Rescuing a Victim Safely: how best to be a hero.
• Dog Attack: facing an attack on you or a loved one.
• Pickpockets: stopping masterful thieves from stealing you blind.
• Recap of this section.
• Pepper Spray & Devices for Outdoor Safety.

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