Turns out that student was actually a 35-year-old man who had robbed over 30 people in forests and abandoned areas, targeting drivers late at night.

I had chills when I saw that he had been wanted by the police in several states.

His methods were chillingly clever—he’d either pretend to be a lost hiker to hitch a ride or pick people up in his own car.

After gaining their trust, he’d rob them of everything and leave them stranded in the middle of nowhere.

To this day, we don’t know why he didn’t rob us.

Maybe it was because there were two of us, or perhaps because I was tall and muscular,

which might have intimidated him.