She Was Chased By A Man With A Plastic Bag In The Woods, And He Was Later Arrested As A Serial Killer

A woman who goes by @heavah on TikTok had something terrifying happen to her while she was out running in a national park, and it made her learn to trust her gut after that day.

She lived in New Mexico back then, and as she made her way down the wooded trail, she noticed there were not that many people out that day, which was odd.

"This little baby deer came on the trail, stopped, and stared at me. We had this moment; I felt very regulated and at peace," @heavah explained in her video.

She continued on her way, and as she got to the most secluded part of the path, she saw a man simply standing there. The man caught sight of @heavah, and he turned slowly to look at her.

It gave @heavah the chills, and it was one of the most unsettling moments of her life. The hair stood up on the back of her neck, and she had never felt like that before.

She didn't understand why she felt like that in the moment. She had previously seen an episode of Oprah that was all about women who were attacked, and an expert who came on the show mentioned it was key to remain calm, look intimidating, and use swear words if confronted by a dangerous man.

Yelling and running could risk provoking a predatory response in an attacker, which had stuck in @heavah's mind. If @heavah ran away from this man in any direction, she would be deeper in the woods and the mountainous area, and farther from where she had parked her car.

The man looked like he was in good shape and could run quickly, so @heavah didn't think she could even outrun him if she tried. She turned her music off and held the runner's mace her grandpa purchased for her in her hand.

There wasn't a lot left of the mace, as her friends used to spray it at each other, but she felt better holding onto it. She kept slowly jogging towards the man, who crept closer to her.

Ulia Koltyrina - stock.adobe.com - illustrative purposes only, not the actual person - pictured above is a woman running in a secluded area

It was like something straight out of a horror film, and as @heavah made it past the man, she was surprised that he didn't try to do anything to her.

She didn't turn her music back on, which allowed her to tune in to the noise of plastic crinkling. She thought that was super weird and couldn't figure out where it was coming from, because it wasn't windy out, so it wasn't like there was a plastic bag blowing around.

"I turned around to check where he was at, and I saw him barreling towards me with a look in his eyes that I can only explain as like that sociopathic stare; it was the creepiest look I'd ever seen," @heavah said in her video.

"And he had a plastic bag at the ready, a trash bag, that I'm sure he was going to attempt to throw over my head. So, I had half a second to make a decision; I turned around with my mace."

She told the man to back off, and it actually worked. The man stopped, threw his hands up in the air, and stated he just wanted to know her name because she was gorgeous. Sure, pal.

As @heavah pointed out, no man would come running after a woman with a plastic bag if they only wanted to find out more about her.

Knowing he was lying to her face, @heavah gave him a fake name before turning around and continuing on her way. When she rounded a corner, she raced through a field and back to her car.

Safely back inside, @heavah phoned her lawyer friend, who advised her to go to the police ASAP to file a report, and she listened to her.

"And it was just maybe in the last three or so years that I saw a picture of a serial killer getting arrested in Texas, one state away, around that time period, that I...he was also wearing the same outfit, a grey tank top and jeans," @heavah added.

"I could not forget the build, the type, the vibe, and immediately knew. Did I ask for this man's ID? No, I did not, so I can't 100% prove it, but I would say I'm 95% sure that it was the serial killer."

Not wanting to name names, @heavah said she would heart the correct answers in the comments, and it looks like that man was Israel Keyes. How chilling.

Her message is to trust your gut no matter what, and you shouldn't feel bad about that or obligated to be polite or kind to a man who looks threatening.

The comments really rattled me, as women shared encounters they had with men while running.

"How terrifying! I had an experience of being chased down on a running trail. As I was getting closer to my car, I saw another man just starting his run. I ran up to him and quickly asked if he would pretend to be with me. He was so sweet and turned back to safely walk me to my car. I cried for a week!" one woman exclaimed.

"Something similar happened to me & my 14-year-old daughter running in a local national park. For some reason, I had a lot of anxiety taking her there to run trails. I had been there a couple of times, but I was anxious this time. I told her to take the keys to the car & if anything happened, to just run to the car & call her Dad (he was working at the time & knew where we were & what we were doing), BUT I always ran with my big ol all-black GSD. My daughter was ahead of me & a man popped out of the woods & asked her a question. When I turned the corner, I saw them & called out her name. He took one look at me & my dog & went back into the forest. It was bizarre & left me rattled. I made her stay closer to me & the dog. I kept looking for him the whole rest of the run. It was weird & we never went back there," another woman remarked.

You can view the video on TikTok here.