Anonymous Woman Shares Warning After Scary Encounter in Rochester

I just recently found a story from a woman who had a scary encounter not too long ago in Rochester, Minnesota. She shared the story anonymously but wanted to make sure others knew about it so they could be aware.

Warning Issued by Anonymous Woman in Rochester, MN

The story was shared at the end of March in the Spotted in Rochester Facebook group. It starts with "FYI to any ladies who go on solo walks in the area!"

The anonymous woman shares that she was out for a walk with her dog in the middle of the day, at 2 PM, on Thursday, March 27th. She wasn't out walking in the dark, she had a dog with her, and she also was walking on a busy street, W River Pkwy NW by The Music Mart.

Suddenly, she realized she was being followed by a guy on a bike wearing lots of layers and recording her. Creepy!

She goes on to say that she called him out and "he proceeded to put his phone down and act like nothing was happening". The woman decided to "give him the benefit of the doubt" and continued with her walk.

A bit further down the street, she noticed the same guy still following her just across the street this time. Instead of calling him out she pulled out her own phone and called her mom. This apparently spooked the guy and he took off.

Thinking everything was good, she continued on her walk. But then she writes:

About 20-30 minutes later IN A COMPLETELY NEW AREA my dog started acting weird and aggressive, I stopped to look around and the guy on the bike was back behind us

So she pulled out her phone again to call her sister and as soon as the phone came out, once again, he stopped following her but this time he got off his bike and "sat on a few uprooted trees."

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I really hope this person has had no other instances like that since then! No one should feel in danger in their own neighborhood. But she is warning other people, but especially women who walk alone, to "Be safe, carry pepper spray and be aware of your surroundings!!!"

Pepper spray and being aware of your surroundings are always a good idea, but walking with a dog is also a really good idea. Yes, it's not another person, but this woman's dog alerted her to the guy the third time around.

Another thing you can do is take self-defense classes. I also know there are these little alarms you can carry with you on your keys. I have one and all you need to do is pull the device and it'll make this super loud noise that they say is the same volume as a police siren. That could be really helpful to get other people's attention and hopefully keep you safe if something bad were to happen.

Below is the anonymous woman's full post.