Reddit Scary Stories: Stranger Danger (feat. Psychopedia)

Added: 2026-05-07

[00:00:00]Today, I want to tell you some of the scariest Reddit stories about terrifying encounters with strangers. We're talking about the man who tried to lure a barista to a job that didn't exist, a hitchhiker that thought they got into a car with a serial killer, and a woman who thinks her date might have orchestrated her mugging. And to join me telling these stories is my dear, dear friend, Investigators Later, from the Psychopedia podcast. You can listen to that podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. And if you like scary Reddit stories, unsolved mysteries, disappearances that make you stay up at night, then you're in the right place.

[00:00:33]You are just like me. Make sure you hit the subscribe button so you can meet me here every week in the Rogue Detecting Society headquarters for episodes.

[00:00:46]>> It's when your heart starts pounding.

[00:00:53]>> Slater, welcome back to Heart Starts Founding. Thank you. I'm so happy to be back.

[00:00:57]>> It's good to have you back.

[00:00:59]>> It is great to be back. This is my favorite place to be.

[00:01:02]>> We did an episode last I think end of the summer last year and it crushed. It was another one of like very scary encounters that people have had and I don't know what it is about these terrifying encounters, but I think a lot of people in the audience resonate very deeply.

[00:01:17]>> It's very relatable content which is terrifying. And then I hope you and I can like break it down a little bit and uh make it a little less terrifying.

[00:01:25]Like let's confront the anxieties that arise from these stories and let's tackle it.

[00:01:30]>> Yes. Cuz it's like the anxiety of this happening to you, but then I think a lot of people actually have stories of things like this happening to them.

[00:01:35]Actually, last time we if you haven't watched that episode, I highly recommend everyone go listen to it and watch it.

[00:01:41]But we talked about um I think that was the one where we talked about there was like a pregnant woman and someone was like, "You should come to my house. You should come to my house." And the amount of pregnant women that reached out afterwards being like the exact same thing happened to me. Like once I was visibly pregnant, I felt like I was a target and people knew I was vulnerable and they would follow me. And that that was really eye opening for me.

[00:02:03]>> That's beyond terrifying. Yeah. Cuz you're you're protective obviously of yourself, but I mean you're coming at me and now my baby. Like that's petrifying.

[00:02:14]>> Yes. And I can't run away. Oh, you're so vulnerable in that place. But >> I think we also talked about like terrifying events that have happened like on campgrounds like summer camps and stuff like that we talked about which like still haunts me some of some of the what we were talking about. It was so scary. We and we just did an episode where we were doing listener stories and I had a listener write in who she used to go or no she worked at a Catholic summer camp >> and aside from I mean we did like a terrifying encounter of someone who lived near the the summer camp and was chasing the kids but that one was like there were there was some sort of like demon or something in her cabin at this summer camp. So summer camps in general >> are just very spooky places. I mean you're out in the middle of nowhere.

[00:02:57]>> Yep. especially sleepa away ones and you're not with your family and you know >> I felt when I worked at a summer camp I felt like I was in a fishbowl. I felt like there were things in the woods that could just see me and all the kids and they knew that it was just 500 kids on this campground and I always felt like >> exposed.

[00:03:13]>> We were in danger and exposed. That's the exact word for it.

[00:03:16]>> Yep. I'm glad you're safe and you're here to tell the tale.

[00:03:18]>> Thank you. We made it. Well, I think we should dive right in because we have some really spooky ones to get into today. So, I'm going to start and then we'll have you read one and we'll go from there. But this first story that I want to read to you is titled Man Tried to lure me to a place that didn't exist and it was posted in Let's Not Meet 7 Months Ago by Hold My Gumax. And they write, "When I was about 25 years old, I was working at a tiny restaurant that served desserts. It was pretty hidden and a quiet location, so I was there alone in the mornings. On one occasion, a man walked in and I recognized him from the night before. He had been there with his wife and his adult children.

[00:03:58]That was the only other time that I had ever seen him, though. This time, he was alone and he began talking to me.

[00:04:04]Everything seemed like the typical small talk, but he kept commenting that I looked 19 years old and saying that he could help me, that he could get me into his job that paid seven more dollars than what I was making at the time. I was intrigued at first, so I asked for the name of the company, kind of getting excited, but he just kept talking and he didn't give it to me. He then began talking about how he has affairs and that his wife knows about them and is okay with it, mentioning that he had an affair once with someone who was 19 and that now she was happily married and that she thanked him for everything he taught her. At this point, I'm starting to get creeped out, but he would not stop talking. He wouldn't stop pestering me about this job, telling me that I could apply, but he wouldn't give me the name of the place. He would tell me the overall area of where it was at, which was by the outskirts of the city, but he always avoided the name. He kept telling me to follow him after work so that he could get me in and I would probably just be hired on the spot. I told him that my car was getting fixed, so my sister would be picking me up anyway, so I couldn't follow him. But since he wouldn't take no for an answer, I eventually decided to tell him I would just so that he could leave. But as soon as I did, he changed the goal and now he was telling me to go into his car with him and that way they would see me arrive with him and they would hire me right away. In between all of this, he randomly shows me a white paper that was supposedly his license to carry. Very random. He also finally gave me the name of the company. Eventually, I told him I would go with him and come back at the time I would be off just so that he would leave. I went to the back and looked up the name of this supposed job, and there was nothing. I used Google Maps to search the area he mentioned, and no, no factory, not anything. Once my time to leave arrived, my sister picked me up from the side of the building. And as we drove away, he had indeed come back and was parked near the location around the corner. I never saw him again. And I was recently retelling this story to a friend of mine and I do deeply regret not reporting this to the police.

[00:06:11]>> That's the story.

[00:06:12]>> Well, good on her for not getting into his car.

[00:06:16]>> First and foremost.

[00:06:17]>> First and foremost.

[00:06:18]>> And for doing >> What do they say? Like never go to a second location with someone like if you're somewhere, never go with them to another place.

[00:06:24]>> Especially if he showed you his face, which he did because he was sitting in this restaurant, right? So she obviously could identify him if you know what I mean. So, typically if you they say if you wind up in a perpetrator's car and that perpetrator is not wearing a mask, it's not looking great for the outcome because they don't anticipate you ever leaving to be able to then report them to the cops.

[00:06:46]>> Whoa. I didn't even think about that, but that makes so much sense that they're like, "Well, if you ever leave, you're going to rat me out, so >> I'm just going to kill you."

[00:06:54]>> Right. So, the fact that he was there and like very exposed in what he was doing and trying to get her to go into his car, I feel like had she somehow for some reason, you know, wound up in his car, I doubt she would have ever made it out, assuming he is a perpetrator and not just some creepy weirdo, which is possible. Yes. Well, creepy weirdo for sure. That's the bar. That's where he's starting at. A creepy weirdo.

[00:07:19]Potentially someone more threatening.

[00:07:20]But the the part of the story I was just reading more about Keith Reeri, the Nexium guy, >> and there's a part of the story that reminded me of him because he says, "Oh, I have had affairs with women who are 19 years old and they thank me for everything I taught them. I have so much wisdom that I can give to young women."

[00:07:39]>> And Keith Reeri used to always say stuff like that, too, >> because they're so arrogant and narcissistic. And you know, I wonder, I don't think that these people like Keith are just saying it to try and get these young women to fall all over them. I think they truly believe the bull >> 100%.

[00:07:56]>> I think they truly believe the BS that they are spewing. I think they're that arrogant and that narcissistic that they actually believe that the women who they quote unquote had affairs with, I'm going to say, who you prayed upon, >> Yeah.

[00:08:09]>> are so thankful for all that you offered. I doubt that.

[00:08:13]>> Yes. And there's something extra sick about it being someone so young and thinking like you have so much to teach them. And >> I mean it. Yeah. It's predatory behavior. Exactly what you said.

[00:08:23]>> Yep. You're finding somebody, you know, the younger women are perhaps more vulnerable, a little, you know, less exposed to the horrors that are out there and therefore easier to persuade and manipulate and are just that much more malleable. So if you're telling me the women you have affairs with are typically 19, that's very, very telling.

[00:08:43]given your age and saying you look 19.

[00:08:47]You look just like these women that I've courted. Oh, >> you look barely legal. That's just despicable.

[00:08:55]So freaky. So freaky. We did an episode actually that was all about people being lured to fake jobs, >> which also is a thing cuz I mean that's such a it's such a people are so vulnerable I guess when they're looking for jobs. I know in my job searches, like during my unemployment, too.

[00:09:13]Sometimes you're like, I'll take literally anything. And we did an episode that was specifically about people who have gotten murdered because of the promise of a job.

[00:09:22]>> Oh, yeah. Well, in my work professionally at my family's law firm, and I can obviously just speak vaguely.

[00:09:30]I'm not going to mention names or anything like that or location, but we have two women who were responding to Facebook ads to be what they thought to be hostesses at a restaurant. So, they replied to this ad and they show up and they were manipulated into basically like dancing for the quote unquote manager. I think I recently told this on a on an episode.

[00:09:56]>> They were like basically this is what they were told once they arrived.

[00:09:58]Remember, they are desperate for work.

[00:10:00]They see this ad, they think it's legitimate. It's on Facebook, right?

[00:10:03]Like, it's a Facebook ad. This is totally legitimate. I'm going with my girlfriend. Like, we're we're going to be fine. They walk in, everything is great, right? They're essentially sort of lovebombed in the beginning. Like, you know, you you ladies seem perfect for the position. We pay really well.

[00:10:17]Here's the thing. It is a restaurant. We do, you know, we do want you to serve as hostesses, but it's also a club, like a gentleman's club. And on occasion, if we're, you know, really backed up, the hostesses, it would be really helpful if you could dance on occasion.

[00:10:34]You never will have to do that. You will never have to do that, but it is part of the application process cuz we just want to make sure whoever we hire to work as hostesses are prepared for that very, very unlikely scenario. So, they're on this interview. They need the job. And it's like they were saying to me in the moment it seemed so legitimate like it they they were so convinced because these people are manipulators. They are experts at what they do.

[00:11:02]>> It ended up being a human trafficking situation. It was absolutely horrible.

[00:11:07]And thank God they wound up making it out alive and okay. But that's how sort of simple I want to say the the plot was. Yeah. Like the ploy rather like come, you know, we're going to put a Facebook ad out and we're going to lure you for legitimate work.

[00:11:23]>> Yeah. And serve and like cuz on Facebook too, you select who you want to see it.

[00:11:27]So you're just picking like young women.

[00:11:29]>> Yeah. Exactly.

[00:11:30]>> And it's getting served to a bunch of young women and then they show up and like I could, you know, when you're in that position too, you're like, I already came all the way out here. Like they've been so nice to me. you already said, I'm really not gonna have to do it, but this is Yeah. And I I could see too just feeling like it's wrong, but being like, I I guess I'll just do this and then it'll be over and maybe I'll get this job and we'll never have to think about this again. But >> this full sense of safety like you're with your friends and you kind of look at each other, you kind of both agree with each other like we'll just do this because he's telling us we're going to get the job and that's what we're here for. That's what we need. Really devastating.

[00:12:03]>> And they probably set the whole thing up to look like they could have done it at a real restaurant, too. Like they can set it up to make it look way more legit.

[00:12:11]>> Absolutely. So I'm so glad they made it out.

[00:12:13]>> Oh my goodness.

[00:12:14]>> Seriously, truly devastating. And then you think of all the people who didn't make it out. It's just horrific.

[00:12:20]>> I know. Very scary. So I mean like lesson of that one. If someone just shows up to your job and says they have another job for you, but you have to get in their car.

[00:12:28]>> Big no.

[00:12:29]>> Mhm. It's like the equivalent of I have this puppy that really needs help. you think you can come, you know, to to it's >> really manipulative and very hard to say no.

[00:12:39]>> I mean, they just are very good at knowing exactly what human emotions to tap into to lure people. Like, what is how much can I lean into someone's sense of responsibility or guilt or wanting to help and use that to get them to do what I want them to do, basically.

[00:12:56]>> Yeah. Well said. Exactly.

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[00:15:14]Do you want to read your next story?

[00:15:16]>> I really do. Yes. Okay. So, this next story is titled I Might Have Met a Serial Killer. Posted one month ago on Creepy Encounters by Topderee 7267.

[00:15:28]I hope I said that name correctly. I was a teen runaway heading back home to Washington from Montana on February 25th, 1997. I had two male companions who were also teen runaways with me and we had stopped at Courts Flats Campground rest stop in Montana for a break from our drive. It was snowing heavily as we left the rest stop. I could barely see the road to I90 when I saw a man carrying a little boy hitchhiking. My first thought was he was some idiot parent endangering his child and that poor kid shouldn't be in a blizzard. It never occurred to me to wonder where his car was located. I decided to pick them up so the boy wouldn't freeze. The man never offered any information about where he came from or where he was going. The man also did not realize when I picked him up that I had two teen boys in the back of my van, and he became unnerved and began speaking in this maniacal fashion about buying a boat in Arizona, saying things like, "You know where you get a good boat? Arizona. Do you know why? There's no ocean, so they sell them cheap. I was relieved when he turned to the boys in the back of my Plymouth Voyager and began talking to them so that I could tune him out and concentrate on driving.

[00:16:44]The man had curly brown hair with a devil's lock in the front and a scar on his upper lip and his chin. The boy appeared to be between 2 and 4 years old, wearing a blue coat, red or blue warm-up pants, and light colored boots that resembled construction boots. The boy would not look at any of us, nor did he turn to the man for comfort. Just looked down at the floor and didn't move from the man's lap. I felt bad for him, thinking he must be so scared of us.

[00:17:12]They were not with us very long, and the man asked to be let out at the gas station in Superior, Montana. And that was the end of that interaction. In 2017, I found True Crime Media, and it made me reflect on 17-year-old me and the terrible risks I took hitchhiking and picking up hitchhikers. I had a few disturbing rides, but the one that sticks out the most was the hitchhiker and the boy. On a whim, I Googled serial killers, I90, and missing children. I didn't really believe I would find any likely offenders until I did. My heart dropped when I saw the devil's lock and scars on his lip and chin. And even more when I found a video he posted online, his maniacal voice, style, and tone matching the boat guy I had given a ride to, Joseph Duncan III. The worst part was that there was a little boy that went missing in the same region 2 days prior. I connected with his aunt and she connected me with the FBI so I could provide a detail that they hadn't made public. If you've ever researched Duncan, you know that he was one of the worst human beings ever. He had a court date on that same day I would have picked him up. Coincidentally, his birthday and there was no record of him showing up for that court date. There was a warrant issued for his arrest in 1997 for missing a court date. By April, he absconded and ended up in California where he took the life of another young victim. I wrote him a letter and he wrote back and stated that he was not the man I picked up, but that I was very brave for picking up a hitchhiker. The letter is the weirdest thing I've ever received in the mail. One more thing, while I was looking into the timeline of Duncan, I reached out to the two teenagers that were with me at the time.

[00:19:08]They both said that it could be him based on the photos and in the video, but they couldn't be 100% sure. They said the creepiest part was when the man turned around to talk to them. He had said, "You're not buying any of this [ __ ] are you?" And then he asked to be let out at the next town.

[00:19:28]And that is the story.

[00:19:30]Wow. That is killing. as the now mother of a young boy. That's like that's hard to read.

[00:19:40]>> Yeah, it's terrifying.

[00:19:43]I I have some thoughts on it. I have not actually covered Joseph Duncan III on psychopedia, but I looked into him a little bit because he is actually probably one of the worst human beings to have ever existed.

[00:19:57]>> Yeah. And you never hear his name.

[00:19:59]>> Yeah. No, he's for whatever reason, he's not one of the headlining, if you will, serial killers. I guess, you know, what he did was particularly horrific. He he annihilated an entire family and he focused on children. He was, you know, a a pedophile to say the least, but a child predator. And he assaulted and he killed children. And it's beyond beyond horrific. So, I'm happy we don't see his name out there too much cuz I don't want to know about him. But, did you read anything about his backstory? like what I'm curious what would have happened to >> very slightly about his backstory and there was a mentioning of a doineering mother which is like very very textbook for men who go on to to kill but usually it's it's men that go on to kill women in particular but again that wasn't really Duncan's you know victimology I mean he did kill at least one woman when he killed an entire family but really he was out for the children and and one potential, you know, obviously red flag that did come up in his history. Again, I did I did sort of a cursory glance into his background, but there is a mentioning that he was abused as a child, although his siblings deny his his allegations of abuse, which doesn't mean it didn't happen because it's possible his siblings didn't know. Like that's entirely possible.

[00:21:20]>> Yeah.

[00:21:20]>> So, yeah. So those are are two predictive behaviors that we will often see in somebody who goes on to offend in the way that Joseph Duncan the third went on to offend. You'll see childhood abuse, a doineering mother. So I don't think I think it's likely that those two, you know, facts were accurate. that if you break this down behaviorally based on his victimology and how he kidnapped his victims and then went on to kill his victims, we would probably classify him as like a power control offender with strong paraphilic, specifically pedophilic and sadistic drives. His crimes were methodical and they escalated. So, there wasn't really sort of this element of chaos. Offenders like Duncan are typically goal oriented and very controlled. I mean, they're maniacs. I'm not giving them any credit.

[00:22:13]It's just like how they sort of organize themselves.

[00:22:16]>> They don't behave in ways that unnecessarily draw attention to themselves. So, hitchhiking in a blizzard, I would say, is very uncharacteristic of an offender like Duncan. There are some things. Yeah, there are some things that do align like geography like Montana along the I90 corridor hits, you know, fits with with the movement patterns.

[00:22:40]>> 1997 tracks with like the period, you know, when Duncan was like active.

[00:22:46]Obviously, the physical description, the scars and like that devil's lock, that hair thingy.

[00:22:51]>> Yeah. and the fact that he had a child with him, you know, potentially a kidnapped child. But the man that this Reddit user described was erratic, maniacal, rambling about boats in Arizona, right?

[00:23:06]>> Yeah.

[00:23:06]>> That doesn't really match Duncan's profile because he was very controlled.

[00:23:11]And when he did speak, and I'll tell you how we know what he said in a minute, but when he did speak, it was always about the devil and how the devil was present and the devil was interested or like into children suffering and crying.

[00:23:29]So he had a very sort of specific talk track and we know this because there was a videotape that was presented in court that it the imagery I mean it's it's beyond terrifying and sadistic and horrific but we heard him in that video and it was all about the devil. So anyway, all this is to say that winding up, you know, hitchhiking in a blizzard is very random and disorganized and going into a car with three people inside of it. It's extremely high-risisk behavior that you wouldn't typically see in an inorganized offender. Like it just contradicts what we would expect from an offender like him. Again, I haven't done like a deep deep dive on him, so they're like there could be more.

[00:24:14]>> This is so interesting. I'm like so just enraptured in what you're saying.

[00:24:17]>> Oh my god, I love this stuff. off. I could talk about it all day. All day.

[00:24:20]So, you're going to have to stop me >> because Yeah. I mean, I guess there is a chance because the poster is saying I think it was him and then also him writing the poster a letter is so scary.

[00:24:31]>> So, that's something else that I'm glad you brought up because that also fascinated me. First of all, he denies being the one that she picked up, right?

[00:24:40]Like he's like, "That wasn't me. You picked up somebody else." He had nothing to gain by denying that it was him. if it in fact was him. He pleaded guilty to all charges against him and he accepted a plea deal. He also agreed to cooperate with investigators and provide them with things like passwords to encrypted files that he had on his computer. Like he was very cooperative and he he pleaded guilty. So there's just nothing for him to gain by lying.

[00:25:09]>> Yeah. So he was the type of person that he was just like, "This is what I did."

[00:25:12]>> Yeah. I'm okay just telling people that this is what I did and getting the sentence that I get.

[00:25:16]>> Totally. He he he pleaded guilty and he took a plea guard a plea agreement. He was life behind bars. It wasn't like a walk in the park, but he he completely accepted responsibility for all of the crimes that he was charged with.

[00:25:29]>> So why wouldn't he accept responsibility for something like getting in the car?

[00:25:33]That's like so benign in comparison to what he >> accepted responsibility for. So like that doesn't >> land for me, you know? Oh, that doesn't hit.

[00:25:43]>> Yeah. Okay. So, maybe it wasn't him. But also, the I I90 corridor specifically in Montana is a very terrifying place. It's a lot of people have gone missing along that corridor. Especially indigenous people who live in the area have gone missing there. So, there is like the terrifying reality that it just could have been some other I mean, yes, it could have been a dad with his son in the middle of a blizzard on the I90 corridor, which also feels just kind of random, but it could have just been someone else. Like, that's just a scary place in general to be.

[00:26:15]>> Yeah, it could have been it could have, like you said, it could have been nothing. It could have just been a very strange situation.

[00:26:22]What's weird, you know, which this reader pointed out is that he didn't say like, "Oh, thank you so much for picking me up. My car broke down." you know, half a mile away. Like, he didn't offer an explanation for why he was walking through a blizzard with a child.

[00:26:36]>> I think where I land is like, does it feel like it could have been him? Yeah, it does. The timeline, geography, make it plausible, but behaviorally, it doesn't line up for me. For me?

[00:26:48]>> Wow, this is fascinating. No, thank you so much for looking into this so much.

[00:26:52]You should be an investigator of it.

[00:26:54]>> Oh my goodness. Good idea, Kaitlin. All right, I have another one that I want to read for you.

[00:26:59]>> So excited.

[00:27:00]>> This one is called Moved Out at 17. I didn't know I was being watched. And it was posted 3 months ago in Creepy Encounters by Time Hair 9440.

[00:27:11]And it goes, okay, 3 years ago, I moved into a student apartment 1 hour away from my parents home. I was 17 at the time. I had negotiated for a long time with my parents so I could live on my own and study independently since the school was far from home. At first, they were reluctant, but they eventually agreed. I had a small apartment, but I liked it. I was able to decorate it the way I wanted. I made friends quickly, and I met my best friend, Eva.

[00:27:36]Everything started when a boy moved into the apartment next to mine. At first, I didn't notice him. It was only when I came back from a weekend at my parents house that I saw a new doormat at the door next to mine. One evening, I was at the common room, a place with couches, a mini bar, and a foosball table.

[00:27:52]basically a place where young people can hang out and pass time. I was there with my friends when a boy entered the room.

[00:27:58]At first glance, he looked shy and especially lost. Eva suggested inviting him to join us. She got up and came back with him. He sat with us and we went around introducing ourselves. For the rest of the evening, he was quiet and reserved and he didn't talk much, but I didn't pay a lot of attention to him. As we went back up to our apartments, Eva discreetly told me, "Did you notice that he kept looking at you? I think he likes you." I just smiled because at the time boys didn't weren't really interested in me and I was more focused on my studies.

[00:28:27]Wednesday was mail day. I went down to my mailbox to get my mail. Nothing special. While flipping through pieces of mail, a small piece of paper fell out with my first name written on it. I opened it and written in pen, it said, "You dress so well. You're more beautiful everyday." I smiled, imagining myself in a romantic TV series, but again, I didn't think much about it.

[00:28:47]When I talked about it with Eva, we both laughed. One evening, I was working at a small restaurant near my school to earn a little bit of pocket money. And that evening, the boy came in. For the story, I'm going to call him Dylan. He sat at the bar and I went over to take his order. He was very smiley and he talked a lot. Even though I had other customers to take care of, it was only at the end of my shift, at closing time, that I realized he had stayed for 2 hours. I found that strange but wasn't really concerning. We went back up to our apartments together. I was about to say goodbye before going into mine, but he hugged me. I was kind of surprised and he said, "I'm happy to have a friend here. You're one of the only ones." That was pretty surprising because we barely knew each other. The next day, I went to school and I ran into him in the hallways. He came over to talk to me. We chatted in between classes, but the conversation was only about me. He asked questions like, "What city do your parents live in? What's your class schedule? Do you have a boyfriend?" But when I asked him questions about himself, he dodged them and he always brought the conversation back to me. In the days that followed, I kept running into him every morning on my way to school. In the evening when I got home, sometimes even in the school hallways, even though before we had hardly ever crossed paths, I found this really strange. I talked about it with Eva and a few friends, but they all told me that maybe he just had the same schedule as me. I had thought that the little note I received in my mail might have come from him, but I didn't mention it to him. One day when I was cooking at home, the doorbell rang. I thought it was Eva coming to pick up some of her things.

[00:30:16]But when I looked through the peepphole, I saw Dylan and he was smiling. I hesitated to open the door, but I did anyways. He was holding a box of chocolates and he handed it to me and said, "This is to thank you for being a golden friend." I thanked him and I closed the door. That evening, in front of the TV, something clicked. I was eating the chocolates when I remembered that the day before I had gone grocery shopping with a friend and we had passed by the candy aisle. She bought chocolate and I had told her that the brand she got was my favorite, but since they were a bit expensive, I preferred to wait until next month when I had a bit more money. And that was strange because I hadn't seen Dylan in the store at any point, but I didn't remember telling him that I loved that brand of chocolate. It bothered me a bit, but I thought maybe he had asked Eva. So, I talked to her about it and she told me that he had never gone to see her. We both found this really weird. As the days went by, I kept running into him more and more, and every time he came to talk to me, honestly, it was becoming annoying. I talked about it with some friends who simply told me to tell him the truth, that it bothered me, and he needed to keep his distance. So, one morning in the school hallway, I went up to him, stressed out, and I told him the truth.

[00:31:22]Dylan, you're very kind. I know we're neighbors, but I feel like you're following me, and you think you're really close to me, even though we barely know each other. I hope you understand. It's not against you, but I would like you to keep your distance."

[00:31:33]At that moment, his face fell. He looked angry and a bit sad. It was hard, but it was better that way. Just before the end of year holiday season, my cousin came to visit me and he stayed at my place for just 2 days. We spent a good amount of time together and I ran into Dylan less and less. When I did see him, he didn't even look up at me. I think he was maybe hurt, but I preferred that to him following me everywhere and talking to me non-stop. After his stay, I walked my cousin to the train station so he could go home. And when I came back, I ran into Dylan in the hallway on our floor. He said hello. I said hello back.

[00:32:06]And before I went into my apartment, he asked, "Is that boy your boyfriend?" I told him no. That was my cousin who had come to visit me before the holidays.

[00:32:14]And then he went back into his apartment without saying anything. One evening when I got home, there was a bouquet of flowers placed on the table in my kitchen with a small note that said on it, "Happy holidays." I immediately understood that it was from Dylan. What bothered me was that the bouquet was inside my apartment. Dylan didn't have the keys to get into my place. And above all, he had no right to do that. I took the bouquet and I went to ring his doorbell. I admit I was angry. He opened the door and I said, "Listen, I'm not going to repeat myself again. I'm sorry, but I'm not interested in you and I don't want your gifts either. So, please don't waste your money and give this bouquet to someone else." And his face fell again and he just replied, "Okay."

[00:32:53]I asked him how he had managed to leave the bouquet in my apartment, and he simply told me that the building caretaker had opened my door so he could put the flowers inside. I didn't look into it any further and just went back home. One night, I was asleep in my bed when my doorbell rang. It scared me, so I woke up with a start. I looked at the time on my phone, and it was 3:00 in the morning. I wondered who could be disturbing me at that hour. I got up and looked through the peepphole, but the hallway was dark. Couldn't see anything.

[00:33:22]I stepped back slowly and then there was a soft knock on the door. From the other side, I heard someone whisper, "Open up.

[00:33:30]I just want to explain myself."

[00:33:32]>> And I recognized it as Dylan's voice.

[00:33:34]>> I hate it.

[00:33:35]>> I was terrified because that's not normal to do that at 3:00 in the morning. At first, I wanted to check that my door was locked, but if I made noise, he would know that I was awake.

[00:33:45]So, I simply went back to my bathroom, the only room in the apartment that I could lock. I thought he would leave, but he kept knocking on the door harder and harder. I was terrified. I took my phone and sent a message to Eva. Of course, I didn't get a reply. No one's awake at 3:00 in the morning. Then I heard a metallic noise. That's when I realized he was trying to force the lock. My heart stopped, but I took my phone and called the police. I was so stressed that I could only give my address, my floor, and my door number.

[00:34:15]The operator told me she would stay on the line until the police arrived. I could feel him pulling on my handle, and I knew that time was running out. What would happen if he managed to open the door before the police arrived. The longer I waited, the harder the blows on the door became. At one point, I heard loud footsteps in the hallway and someone shouting. I finally calmed down when I heard knocking on the door and a man shouting, "Open up, miss. It's the police." I got up and looked through the peepphole and yeah, it was the police. I opened the door and Dylan was on the ground handcuffed and he was furious.

[00:34:47]One officer dealt with him while the other one took my statement and I told him everything from beginning to end.

[00:34:52]They said that they would call me when they had more info. Then came the holiday season. I stayed at my parents house for 2 weeks and honestly it did me a lot of good. The police called me back and I was shocked when they told me that they had searched Dylan's phone and laptop and they had found a lot of information about me. Dylan had found all my social media accounts, even my parents Facebook accounts. I also learned that he had previously assaulted his ex-girlfriend several times and that she had even ended up in the hospital because of him. After that, I finished my studies, but I moved into a shared apartment with Eva. And today, I live with my parents. And I admit that I am afraid to live alone again. I don't know when I'll have the courage to do so. How would you have reacted in my place?

[00:35:37]>> Oh my god, I was on the edge of my seat, Caitlyn, that whole time.

[00:35:41]>> I hate it so much. Oh wow. That was very intense and terrifying.

[00:35:45]>> It's really really scary when you keep telling someone no, please don't do this. Hey, and she was so nice to him too at first. Like >> that's the thing. You're not going to go to level 15. You know what I mean? I don't know where that level where that number came from. Like you're not going to go to a super high level immediately, right? Because you're so afraid of like overreacting and and blowing something out of proportion.

[00:36:07]Maybe you're misreading the situation.

[00:36:08]So at first you're polite about it. And that's what we're taught too, especially I hate to say it as women. Like we're taught like to smile and be polite and you know what I mean? So your first at least I'll speak for myself like I'm wired initially my first response is like you know this is fine. We're fine.

[00:36:25]Like I'm going to be polite and we're going to you know we're going to talk and everything's going to be fine.

[00:36:30]>> So yeah. So she she really gave gave a lot of patience initially and did it a lot nicer than she probably would do in the future because she's going to learn from this. That's for sure.

[00:36:40]>> Wo. So so so freaky. You know what this reminds me of? Wait, have I ever told you this story of when I was in the seventh grade?

[00:36:50]I was on I had I was whatever on like the bus going to school and this new kid I'll call him Alex had moved into my town small town everyone knew everyone and he just would get on the bus and started s sitting right next to me like in the seat next to me which was so strange like there was enough space on the bus where everyone had their own seat to themselves and he wouldn't talk to me but he would just sit next to me every single day and soon he started bringing snacks and he would like sit on the bus right next to me and he'd pull out a snack and be like do you want some of And I'd be like, "No." And the whole time I'm like, "Can you just not sit right next to me? Like there was a free seat in front of me. Please just like get out of here." And he was also he was just kind of like a strange kid in general. My town was really small and he was known to like he would like graffiti things and it wasn't really a place where he would graffiti >> I don't know the bridge. But so everyone just knew him as like the kid that just moved to our town and started graffitiing everything in the town.

[00:37:42]>> So I just really wanted to be left alone on my way to school. And so one day he brings a banana and he opens it and it smells horrible and he's eating it and it sounds horrible >> and I told him I was like, "Hey, >> the scariest thing you've said all day."

[00:37:55]>> I know. I That was That was my breaking point. That was the moment where I was like, "He can't sit next to me anymore."

[00:38:00]And I turned to him and I said, >> "Hey, the seat in front of me is free.

[00:38:04]Can you just sit there today?"

[00:38:07]>> And I've never seen someone look so angry at me >> and disappointed. and he just like gets his stuff, huffs up, sits in front of me, and that was that. And every day he'd come back on the bus and he'd sit right in front of me, but he wouldn't sit next to me. So I was like, "Okay, we're good." One day he stops showing up to the bus. He stops being on our bus route. And I never heard from him after that. And everyone was like, "Where did Alex go? Like what happened?" And finally, like maybe two months later or something, just like a few weeks later, someone was like, "What ever happened to Alex? Like he used to be on our bus. I haven't seen him at school or anything."

[00:38:41]And someone goes, "Oh, someone called the police on him or for some reason the police went to his house and he had been building pipe bombs."

[00:38:50]>> Oh my god.

[00:38:51]>> And he got arrested and so he doesn't go to our high school anymore.

[00:38:55]>> Wow.

[00:38:55]>> Or middle school. And I was like, >> whoa.

[00:38:59]>> Wow. I mean, you were spot on for picking up on something obviously a miss.

[00:39:04]>> It was a really dark energy coming from him. Yeah. Really dark energy. And again, I don't know if he was building pipe bombs to like for me specifically.

[00:39:11]But I could not shake that thought afterwards that like this is my fault.

[00:39:15]It's because I upset him. If I just let him sit next to me and eat his bananas, we would have been fine. Or >> whatever. But >> that's terrifying. And he was obviously, I mean, he was young, too, but he was like >> imposing himself on you and he, you know, he knew what he was doing. He knew he was making you uncomfortable. He was breaking you down. You know, just >> And you know what?

[00:39:34]>> The banana was a test. She's like, "If I can eat this next to her, I can do anything. She'll never say no to me."

[00:39:38]>> Big mistake wasn't the pipe bomb. It was the banana.

[00:39:42]>> Yeah. Oh, yeah. No, but it's that thing of like like testing boundaries. And it seems like it's what this kid was doing, too, of like I'll just start showing up in the hallway with her and I'll talk to her and then I'll be in the next place she goes and I'll talk to her and then it keeps like encroaching closer and closer and closer and that can feel so >> threatening.

[00:39:59]>> Threatening. Yeah. I think it's like uh they say the the expression of the frog in the boiling pot of water. Like you kind of maybe don't realize it at first and that's what they're counting on. You know what I mean? So like at first, you know, with in this story like he just what like left her a note or wrote her name on a piece of paper or said something like thanks for hanging whatever it was in the beginning that he seemed so innocuous, you know, >> and then you you step it up a little bit and then you step it up a little bit more and you see what you can keep getting away with. You know what I mean?

[00:40:31]And and that's how you're testing those boundaries and and seeing how far you can go.

[00:40:36]>> And it's really hard when you're on the receiving end of that to know >> when to put an end to it or is it just going to fizzle out? Am I overreacting?

[00:40:46]Am I misjudging? I think the moral of the story is like listen to your gut always. And don't be afraid to put your foot down and say off the bat very firmly like I don't want to know of you.

[00:41:00]I don't want to see you. I don't like this is this isn't ever going to be a thing. And you actually just make me uncomfortable. I know we've only met twice, but to your point, Kayn, you have this dark energy and I don't like it.

[00:41:10]It's making me uncomfortable.

[00:41:11]>> The vibe is off. There's something evil there. Yeah. instead of being polite in the beginning like, "Oh, thank you."

[00:41:17]Like, "How did you know I like this chocolate?" Whatever. You know what I mean? Like, we have to be okay listening to our gut and responding accordingly.

[00:41:27]We can't worry about hurting feelings or stepping on toes. You know, I'm not saying you're going to like call the cops on him, you know, the second time he looks at you and makes you uncomfortable, but you have every right to say, "Don't look at me again. We I don't I don't ever I don't want you in my face ever."

[00:41:42]>> I know. I'm honestly so impressed by the way she spoke to him at the beginning because I think a lot of people would have waited a lot longer to say something and like what she said was so spot on. The like I think you think we're a lot closer than we are and that's making me uncomfortable, but I don't really know you and I'd rather just keep some distance between us. Like that was beautiful. That was so >> and the fact that he could I I think she really did everything right. The only like the only time that maybe more alarm bells should have been going off and that actually kind of freaked me out too is when he said that oh our apartment manager like the building manager let me into your apartment. Like >> I would go check in with that guy because like you can't just be letting people into that apartment because they say that they're her friend.

[00:42:24]>> 100%. But and then you also wonder the legitimacy of that. You think that's what happened or you think he broke through a window? You know what I mean?

[00:42:31]He probably did break in, but still even that excuse of like, well, someone else let me in. It's like, well, I need to go talk to that person and like get that story to see if that's actually what happened cuz even if that is what happened, that's not okay, >> right? It's almost distracting. It's almost like shifting the blame to the landlord. Like, he well, they let me in.

[00:42:46]It's like, well, you should not need to be in my apartment when I'm not here.

[00:42:50]>> No one should be allowed to come into my apartment when I'm not here. Like, no one should just be inviting themselves into my space >> ever. That is so Yeah, that's that's really scary. It's just such a violation. It really is. Thank god she's okay. I can only imagine the fear of being in your bathroom with the door and just wondering who's going to get in first, the cops or this maniac, you know, like you're praying that the cops time is ticking.

[00:43:15]>> Yeah. That they're going to show up and like she had to look through the the hole in her door to like make sure it was the police. Like it could have very well been him right there. You know what I mean? That's so scary. One thing I recommend to anyone who's listening to this and is like, "Well, I don't want anyone to ever be able to get into my apartment even if it's locked by forcing the lock." I have these straps. They're blue. I forget what they're called, but I take I started taking them when I traveled and then I also just when I before I was married and I lived in an apartment, I would do it to my door. But they you can they're velcro and they go around the lock so that even if someone has a key to your apartment, they won't be able to turn >> the key and unlock it because the force of the strap will be holding the lock in place.

[00:43:59]>> Interesting. I've never heard of that.

[00:44:01]>> Highly recommend them just for the peace of mind. Like no one's going to try to force their way into your apartment 99.99% of the time. But even just like when I'm traveling, I can at least sleep at night because I know like the the lock is double enforced. Yeah. I'll like on the video I'll put up a picture of them so people can see what they are.

[00:44:18]But highly recommend. I love them.

[00:44:20]>> Yeah. No, peace of mind for sure.

[00:44:26]>> This episode is brought to you by Symbiotica. Let me tell you real quick about a problem that I've been having lately, and that is that my friends and family have taken all of my Symbiotica supplements. I keep them in a cabinet in my house, and every time people come over, they leave with a handful as if they are Halloween candy. And I get it.

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[00:45:30]That's cy mbot t i ka.com.

[00:45:36]This episode is brought to you by Solless Health. I have been booking lots of doctor's appointments lately and it can be such a headache. You can spend hours on hold with insurance. You can be bounced between doctors who clearly aren't talking to each other. I mean, I see it in my life now and I have a grandmother with Alzheimer's and it's hard for her to go to the doctor and advocate for herself. Having a Solace advocate would be such a game changer.

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[00:46:40]>> All right. Do you want to read the next one that you have? Yes.

[00:46:42]>> Probably our last one that we'll do.

[00:46:44]>> This post is titled, I was once mugged and I am convinced that it was a setup.

[00:46:49]Posted 4 months ago on Let's Not Meet by Glitter Dorsay2.

[00:46:55]I moved to East Los Angeles the summer after high school. My parents bought the house from my aunt and uncle who had just moved out. We already had family in that area, so it felt familiar. The neighborhood was nice and quiet. The plan was for me to live with my parents and save money while I figured out what I wanted next. I was getting ready to start community college and apply to a medical assistant program. Back then, everyone had an opinion about East LA.

[00:47:20]People loved to describe it as dangerous, even though most of them had never even been there. I grew up visiting my cousins in that same area and it was never as dramatic as people made it sound. These places are not scary to me. They are just neighborhoods where people live. I met Michael at my cousin's house party that summer. He had tattoos and looked edgy. When he asked me out, I said yes. I was flattered and curious what he would be like. He told me he knew a place with the best guava nectar in town. Okay. And that we could go to a drive-in movie afterward. I actually left. Okay. I did too. I like guava nectar, but I had never heard anyone hype it up like that. But like I said, I was curious and I agreed. He parked at the drive-in first. He said we would leave the car there, walk to the restaurant, and come back for the movie.

[00:48:12]We even asked the employees if that was okay. They said yes. But something about the plan felt strange. The restaurant was about a 20inut walk away and the movie started at 9:00. It was close to 8:00. I asked him if it was smart to walk by ourselves so late. He smiled and said he thought I was not afraid of neighborhoods like this since I had spent so much time in East LA. He said it like a challenge. I remembered mentioning that earlier and he used my own words to keep me from saying no, so I went along with it. Very few people were on the street and it was dark. As we got closer to the restaurant, he stopped a few times to show me videos on his phone. There were silly clips that he thought were funny. I was uneasy about the walk. It felt like Michael wanted it to last longer than it should have. Something was off. Looking back, I think Michael was stalling. Then a car pulled up beside us. A masked man got out and walked towards us. For a second, I thought it might be a prank, like for a YouTube video. Then I heard his voice and he said, "I need your phone and wallet." I remember thinking he sounded young, maybe high school age. He also sounded nervous and out of breath. I can't prove this, but I could tell this was not something he had done before. I think he was hesitating. At one point, I even remember the driver yelled, "Hurry up, man." He yelled back, "I am hurrying up, bro. She's right here." I kept looking at Michael. Michael looked back.

[00:49:43]I could not see their faces, but something in that moment told me that they knew each other. He took my wallet and phone, then ran back to the car, and they drove away. Michael stood still. He did not help, but to be fair, I don't know what he could have done. You never know what someone with a gun might do if you make the wrong move. I was in shock, trying to make sense of what just happened. I told Michael we should go to the police. He kept insisting we should still go get that guava nectar so I could calm down. I had just been robbed and he was offering me juice. I had no phone and no way to call anyone and somehow we were walking to get guava nectar. We got it and then walked back.

[00:50:27]When we finally got to the car, I told him again that I wanted to go to the police. This time I said that if he refused, I would ask someone else in the parking lot to call. He finally said okay. At the station, we gave our statements and it got even stranger. I said the car was gray because I knew what I saw. Michael said it was white. I said there had been a driver who yelled, "Hurry up, man." Michael said there was no driver and instead that it was the same person who got back into the driver's seat of the car and drove himself off. He kept adding little changes. The officers were polite, but I could feel their patience thinning. When they realized we were giving them two different stories, one of them sighed.

[00:51:11]She said she could not really investigate if two people who were both there could not agree on what happened.

[00:51:18]I knew right then and there they were not going to investigate this any further. Michael drove me home. When my parents found out what happened, they were furious. My mom told me never to talk to Michael again. She did not have to repeat herself. Thankfully, I did not lose much. My wallet was easy to replace and I needed a new phone anyway. The more I think about that night, the more I am convinced that Michael planned it.

[00:51:43]I can still remember how he stalled to give them more time to come and mug me.

[00:51:48]I can still remember how calm he stayed through all of it. I can still remember how he tried to give the police completely different information from what had really happened. No way that was all an accident. Since then, I've seen Michael a few times at different things. He always wants to make small talk and invites me to things. I keep my guard and don't agree to anything. And that's the story.

[00:52:14]>> He fully planned that.

[00:52:16]>> Yeah, he 100% planned that. First of all, why was he not robbed? That's my first question.

[00:52:21]>> Yeah. Well, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.

[00:52:23]Why just her?

[00:52:25]>> If this was an actual mugging, there is no way that somebody is just walking off with one cell phone and one wallet and leaving the other person with all of their items. It makes zero sense. Yes.

[00:52:35]No. 100%. And he he like for sure was luring her there. Like the obsession with the guava nectar, which I guess I had her I ended up like googling it while you were talking. Like it is just juice. It I mean it looks very delicious. But like he was so insistent on like we have to go get this guava nectar.

[00:52:53]>> Yeah, that sounds like so such a great idea. Let's leave our car 20 minutes away in a parking lot to go walk and get some juice. I mean, she knew something was wrong. She knew something was weird.

[00:53:05]I'll say not wrong.

[00:53:06]>> Yeah.

[00:53:06]>> In the beginning, >> but I think like social pressure as a compliance strategy, like when he subtly pushed her to go along by saying like, "Well, you said you weren't scared of this neighborhood. So, what's why wouldn't you want to walk at night to to go get the juice?" Like, >> you know what I mean? Like, instead of forcing her, obviously, he's like, you know, I thought I just Come on. Like, I'm going to put your words to the test and see if they stand. like you said this and then it was a very smart tactic on his part because she's like I did say that I got to be a woman of my word.

[00:53:40]>> I know. And then you're like well yeah I guess I did say that and you kind of start talking yourself out of it or like into something >> and you don't want to contradict who you said you were. Like you said you were somebody who was not afraid of this. You know what I mean? So it's like a very smart tactic >> and she didn't do anything wrong by going for that walk. Like she you know what I mean?

[00:54:02]>> Yeah. At the end of the day though, she when she started to feel like something was funny, like we we again it goes back to what we were saying earlier, like we have to be okay choosing ourselves over other people. Like the second she was like, he's stalling. Something's weird, >> but you're just so like compelled to do the socially right thing. Like we're on a walk.

[00:54:24]>> Also, it's night time and he's the only one with you, so like what are you going to do? Just run off into the night?

[00:54:29]>> You have to like pick your poison at that point. stay with somebody weird or risk it and walk back.

[00:54:37]>> Do you think he would have done this to other people before? Like this do you think this is like a whole scheme that they're running where he's like I'm going to start kind of dating a girl.

[00:54:44]I'll get her comfortable and then he just like has a thing with his friend where like he just takes her out and like the friend comes and robs him. It seemed weld oil from Michael's perspective like he was a cool cucumber, but the way she described the driver, he sounded like a nervous wreck or the or the one who did the actual mugging, right? He was like >> he's like, "She's right here. Like, I'm I'm doing it. I'm nervous." You know what I mean? So, I don't doesn't sound like that that guy had ever been involved in in something like this before based on that alone. But, it definitely sounds like this was not Michael's first rodeo. Uh, and then I I know I there's like probably also not because they're probably giving their statements together it sounded like. So there wasn't really an opportunity for her to even say like I think this guy is the reason.

[00:55:27]>> Right. Right. I think this guy's in on it. Like our stories aren't matching because trust me, he's in on it. You know what I mean?

[00:55:33]>> Yes. Yes. And so of course the cop is like, "Well, it sounds like you guys are just making this up. So we're busy here.

[00:55:39]Like go figure out something to But the the other thing of it is too is you know they're two different people who can experience fear and anxiety in different ways. So you know that I feel like to say like oh there's throw your hands up like there's nothing we can do in this investigation. I mean I don't know what the solution is. I'm not saying I do but I just feel like is there no acknowledgement that they were just put through this traumatic experience and so maybe they're you know one one of them is misremembering or you know what I mean? Yeah, >> I would love to think law enforcement like kind of maybe circled back with them to see if, you know, once the nerve settled if if maybe there was like a version that came out that that was consistent. Like I hate to think that they just dropped it because two teenagers were tripping over themselves.

[00:56:26]They were scared presumably. Listen, I don't know if you've ever had to call 911 in LA, deal with law enforce like there's been a handful of times where I've had to call 911 here. And the vibe for sure is like we are very busy, if you can even get them. I mean, there's been times where they'll put you on like a 10-minute delay. Like, you just can't get them right away.

[00:56:50]>> Oh, wow.

[00:56:51]>> The one time I called the non-emergency line, it was an hour and a half before I got someone, and they basically hung up on me.

[00:56:56]>> Oh my god. And that was like during like a car like a car got stolen and the cop was like it doesn't look like the cars in our system anyways. Click gone.

[00:57:05]>> I mean I I I guess there's very violent crime that obviously would take precedent but this was a this was a mugging at gunpoint. Like this was no small you know.

[00:57:16]>> That's a good point. That's a good point.

[00:57:17]>> You know and that's that's just kind of like for now the gun didn't go off.

[00:57:21]Maybe the next time it would. You know, I I just feel like to be so dismissive.

[00:57:27]I again, I don't know what the solution is cuz I do understand from law enforcement's perspective like we got bigger fish to fry. Like, get your story straight. You know, where do you want me to go with this? You're saying these two you were both just there and then it makes you question whether or not anything at all happened or these kids just like all up in our business for >> and giggles, you know?

[00:57:44]>> Yeah. Right. Like are they just lying about something? Like are Yeah. it.

[00:57:48]Especially if it like the stories are so widely wildly different that of course they're like this sounds fake. Like you're doing this for some other unknown reason and we're just not going to entertain the idea.

[00:57:57]>> Did I ever tell you I may have told this story. I was on the phone with Dave once and I heard him getting mugged.

[00:58:02]>> No.

[00:58:02]>> No. Okay. So my husband is Dave for those who don't know. Firefighter Dave is what he's known as on psychopedia. So Dave used to be a teacher in Harlem when we lived in New York City together. He worked at a school for children with autism and he would walk from our apartment on the Upper East Side to Harlem. It wasn't like a long walk, whatever. Not the greatest part of town.

[00:58:24]So, he was on his phone and we're talking. One second he's talking and literally mid-sentence the next he's not. And I hear panting and I hear going down. Like I I I knew what was happening. I knew what was happening.

[00:58:42]And in that moment, I was working in an office at a school. I like stood up from my chair and I was like, "Joscyn to the girl next to me, call 911. Tell them there's a mugging happening right now in Harlem." And I was like, "It has to be."

[00:58:55]And I kind of gave the estimated street, you know, where Dave probably was around that time based on his walk.

[00:59:02]>> And I was terrified cuz I couldn't hear.

[00:59:04]But then I heard clear running. So in my head, I'm like, "The guy has to have Dave's phone." and he's running, which means hopefully Dave is okay.

[00:59:12]>> Absolutely panicstricken. Thankfully Dave walked into a Dunkin Donuts and asked if they he could use their phone and the first thing he did was to call me at work to say he was okay. But he 100% he said he was jumped when I was on the phone. Like jumped thrown on the ground in Harlem. Instinct for Dave was, you know, he I think he threw threw punch. I don't know if he threw punches and landed them or he just like physically >> Yeah. you know, went and thankfully the guy took off. Like there was no engagement. There was no actual fist fight or any or worse. But of course I was like, "Why didn't you just Why would you even I heard you. I heard you guys like right like why just here take my phone, you know?" Because you don't know what's going to happen in that moment.

[00:59:54]>> You just don't know how you're going to react.

[00:59:56]>> No. And he's probably so caught off guard cuz he's just talking to you and next thing he knows like the phone's gone and you don't even know what's happening. And >> terrible. So scary. arguably scarier for me.

[01:00:07]>> I know to be on the other end of the phone call and to like hear it all go down but not be able to do anything.

[01:00:13]>> Oh my god. I'll just never forget getting that call from Dunkin Donuts. I will never forget. And it said Dunkin Donuts on the caller ID and I'm like this has to be Steve. It just has to be.

[01:00:24]>> Yeah.

[01:00:25]>> And it was. Thank goodness.

[01:00:27]>> Wow. Thank God.

[01:00:29]>> Yeah.

[01:00:29]>> Firefighter Dave. Oh my god.

[01:00:31]>> Oh man.

[01:00:32]>> Very scary.

[01:00:33]>> Yeah. The last time he took his cell phone out in Harlem, I can tell you that.

[01:00:36]>> Oh, yeah. For sure.

[01:00:37]>> There was no talking and walking anymore on the streets. You know, you learn. You live and you learn.

[01:00:42]>> You learn. You live and you learn. Well, thank you so much for coming on. Those are all the stories that I have for you today.

[01:00:48]>> This was a great lineup. Thank you.

[01:00:50]>> I always love the stories that we share.

[01:00:52]Where can everyone find you?

[01:00:53]>> They can find me at psychopedia. So, wherever you listen to podcasts and you put in psychopedia, you will see all of the cases there. We have lots going on on Patreon right now. I'm actually rolling out this criminal profiling test that that I just put together at patreon.com/cyclopediapod.

[01:01:13]And on Instagram, I just kind of combined pretty much psychopedia with investigators. So my handle on Instagram and Tik Tok is @ investigator Slater.

[01:01:22]And I have, as you know, Kaitlin, lots of other stuff that goes down on my social accounts.

[01:01:26]>> Oh my gosh. Yes. So much.

[01:01:28]>> So definitely give a follow. and I would love to see your wonderful listeners in my world. Thank you for introducing us all, Kaylin. You're the best. I can't wait to have you on Encyclopedia.

[01:01:38]>> Yay. I know. So, I'll be going on Psychopedia, so keep an eye out for that as well.

[01:01:42]>> Yes.

[01:01:43]>> But yeah, thank you for stopping by.

[01:01:45]>> Thank you. Anytime. This was wonderful.

[01:01:46]You're like my favorite person and I'm obsessed with your podcast. So, I would love to do this. It's the best.

[01:01:51]>> I love when we get to hang out. This is just an excuse for me to hang out with you, so it's same. I love it so much.

[01:01:57]Thank you. All right, bye guys.

[01:02:01]Heartsarts pounding is written and produced by me, Kayla Moore. Heartsarts pounding is also produced by Matt Brown.

[01:02:06]Our associate producer is Juno Hobbs.

[01:02:08]Sound design and mix by Red Rum Creative. Special thanks to Travis Dunlap, Grace Jernigan, and the team at WME. Have a heart pounding story or a case request? Check out heartsartspounding.com.