Suspicious Vehicle

[ZigZagZeke]

I got up to take a whiz last night and I see out the bedroom window, through the forest, on the dead end main road where my driveway connects about 150 yards out, a set of parking lights, no headlights, vehicle stationary. It's 4:30 am and I can't think of any legitimate reason why anybody would be stopped out there. The main road is gravel and one lane, and it's about 1/4 mile to the paved road. I watch the lights for a couple of minutes without seeing any movement. Figuring that the best defense is a good offense I grab my pistol with laser sights and a big sealed beam, slip on my Bogs, and head silently down the driveway. I get within about 100 feet of the vehicle and I can make out somebody standing next to it. I've been carefully listening and watching for any movement anywhere around me as I've been silently moving along, and this appears to be the only person in the vicinity. I turn on my sealed beam and light the guy up, and I say "Can I help you?"

The reply I get is "It's me, Fred!" Fred is the guy who lives a bit further down the main road from my place. Turns out that Fred is a birdwatcher and he's out there for an Audubon event trying to count owls by listening for them. I had already holstered my CC piece when he identified himself, and I didn't mention to him that I was armed. We had a short conversation and I left him to his hobby and went back inside. I'm really glad he wasn't a bad guy. I mentioned that he might try emailing our local watch group next time he's figuring on prowling around at 4:30 am.

I'm not sure I did the right thing, but it's kinda my nature to tackle threats head on. The one thing I didn't do correctly as I think about it is I didn't take my cell phone along with me. Thoughts?

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[slimmer13]

I live in a pretty rural area with a lot of backroads. A time or two, I've had an unfamiliar vehicle parked on the side of the road. I handled it the same way you did. Judging by the state of the vehicle and the looks of the individuals, probably tweakers doing tweaker stuff.

They beat feet pretty quick when confronted.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Spotted owls are the new global warming.

 

[P7M13]

IMO, you did the right thing.
Did you have a plan if it was NOT Fred?

 

[Ops]

buy nighvision goggles and go zero dark thirty.

 

[2DaMtns]

Was this person on your property? If not, was it private land or public?

 

[v0lcom13sn0w]

always be ready to defend yourself. no one else will. IMO you did the right thing. especially living in a rural area. if it wasnt a threat to your life, well good. what if it was someone who was lost and was having a medical condition? you coulda saved a life

 

[CRBMoA]

4:30 AM?

You should have stayed inside and fondled your worry blanket.

What if you startled the birder? Your unauthorized greeting of an unannounced visitor in your neighborhood at an odd hour can only be considered the irrational over-reaction of a homicidal paranoid schizophrenic.

 

[Mikej]

I'm not sure I did the right thing, but it's kinda my nature to tackle threats head on. The one thing I didn't do correctly as I think about it is I didn't take my cell phone along with me. Thoughts?

Ahhh. When I was and growing up in a semi rural area.....It wasn't uncommon to be at the end of a road, with buddies, or a girlfriend. Or buddies AND the girl friends. Back then people parked at the end of the road for that sort of thing. There was this one spot, (and maybe others that don't come to mind now), where we parked and walked down the farmers road, to the farmers bridge, to fish the Provo river. That would have been before first light. The good old days.

I wouldn't go anywhere near saying you did anything stoopid though. And can't say that fore sure that I wouldn't have done the same thing you did. It's one of those sad, sad things of the times we've come to. Seems there's no where for the younger generation to go now to be alone.

 

[KKG]

My thought is you should have called 911 first off. What you describe is a Great way to get yourself shot.

 

[2DaMtns]

Here's the question - could you defend/rationalize your actions had someone ended up shot? De-escalation is always the first step if there isn't an immediate threat. This had the potential of being the exact opposite, and could easily be seen as you looking for a fight.

 

[The Heretic]

Yup - when I was a teen, we did a lot of late night parking on dead end roads/etc., to watch the submarine races.

It usually wasn't at 430 AM though - her parents usually wanted her home long before then. There were times when we went drinking out that late though.

 

[slimmer13]

"Stupidly territorial"? Really? I look out for people that are out of place, and my neighbors do the same. We all look out for each other. If you look out of place, expect to be asked your business, especially if you look like a creeper, or it's the middle of the night. Sorry if that hurts your feelers.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I got up to take a whiz last night and I see out the bedroom window, through the forest, on the dead end main road where my driveway connects about 150 yards out, a set of parking lights, no headlights, vehicle stationary. It's 4:30 am and I can't think of any legitimate reason why anybody would be stopped out there. The main road is gravel and one lane, and it's about 1/4 mile to the paved road. I watch the lights for a couple of minutes without seeing any movement. Figuring that the best defense is a good offense I grab my pistol with laser sights and a big sealed beam, slip on my Bogs, and head silently down the driveway. I get within about 100 feet of the vehicle and I can make out somebody standing next to it. I've been carefully listening and watching for any movement anywhere around me as I've been silently moving along, and this appears to be the only person in the vicinity. I turn on my sealed beam and light the guy up, and I say "Can I help you?"

The reply I get is "It's me, Fred!" Fred is the guy who lives a bit further down the main road from my place. Turns out that Fred is a birdwatcher and he's out there for an Audubon event trying to count owls by listening for them. I had already holstered my CC piece when he identified himself, and I didn't mention to him that I was armed. We had a short conversation and I left him to his hobby and went back inside. I'm really glad he wasn't a bad guy. I mentioned that he might try emailing our local watch group next time he's figuring on prowling around at 4:30 am.

I'm not sure I did the right thing, but it's kinda my nature to tackle threats head on. The one thing I didn't do correctly as I think about it is I didn't take my cell phone along with me. Thoughts?

Heck yea you did the right thing. It pays to be aware of what's going on around your property and to be prepared. That beats sleepwalking and just hoping for the best.

Last week I found a hand sized sharp angled rock in my backyard in the morning. I recognized immediately it came from the little rock garden and no way an animal could have moved it. The rock was dropped right at the point where the motion floodlights would turn on.

Upon investigating I found someone had used my lawnchair to get back over a small fence into a little strip of blackberrys and ivy that is only accessible from the neighboring property's (vacant) roof, or my back yard. I investigated more and found drug paraphenalia and a condom and homeless detritus at the neighboring property. I also found an old wooden ladder in the same spot. Within minutes the ladder was chopped up and looked like the pic below. I also repositioned my security camera to get that part of the yard. I have received but haven't yet installed a couple 5th ops trip alarms also (not dangerous, just makes a bang). If he ever comes again it will be a loud awakening for him.

No one else is going to protect your property or family so being aware and taking reasonable precautions is a must in my book.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Imo u did the right thing, and in the right way. Investigated to see if it was a threat or something u should be concerned about.

In terms of the white/yellow/orange/red alert scale, most poeple live in, and stay in, the white. If u live in the yellow u are much more likely to catch a threat before it can do u or ur family harm.

re 911 that's a judgement call and depends on where u live. Here myself and a city employee called in a homeless man beating on a naked petite woman and the police did not arrive after40 minutes. Another time a homeless woman tried to break into several neighboring properties and I followed her for over 40 min waiting for the police to arrive and they never did.

Col. Jeff Cooper's Awareness Color Code | BSR, Inc.

Cooper's Awareness Color Code system breaks down alertness levels into four colors: White, Yellow, Orange and Red. Find out what each color means.

www.bsr-inc.com

 

[oremike]

You have a right and responsibility to know what's going on on and around your property. More so at 4:30 am.

 

[Mikej]

especially if you look like a creeper, or it's the middle of the night.

Let's leave Joe Biden out of this. K?

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Forgot to mention (and can't edit due to edit limit) that around here homeless use sharp rocks as weapons and also to break glass in properties for burglary. So keep that in mind if u see a crazy acting homeless person who has a rock.

 

[RVTECH]

A couple thoughts of mine here.

IF you stayed on you own property, did not venture past and did not approach the person closely then you were doing nothing wrong.

However If you had approached the person and it was not 'Fred' he could have easily perceived YOU as a threat - especially if he was on public property - and this could have turned out very differently.

A question however would be, hypothetically speaking, is it your FIRST thought to consider a vehicle, partial lights on, in your area (and if on public property) a potential threat ?
OR is it just a vehicle, partial lights on and you are curious as to why it is there ?

You might want to question your own interpretations as to your perception of people (in a 'suspicious' vehicle) who are simply parked and are NOT displaying any threat or aggressive behavior.

 

[HenryJ]

Awareness, investigate, identify. All good reactions to the situation. Having communications (cell phone) would have been preferred. I will admit to similar situations outside my rural home. Similar outcome and forgetfulness when it comes to having my cell phone
Most times it has been a vehicle lost or broken needing assistance. I do what I can to help