The Signs Were There
I met a guy who had been traveling through Australia with a couple of friends, hitchhiking around as many people have done. He told me a story that I’ll never forget.
One day, one of his friends told him they were near his distant uncle’s house. He’d never met him before, but he got his uncle’s phone number from a family member. He called him and, as the hitchhikers had hoped, the uncle offered them a place to stay for the night.
He picked them up and drove them to his rural property way out in the bush. They said he seemed like a pretty friendly, cheery, and normal guy, so they had no worries about staying with him.
When it was time to set up a place to sleep, the uncle opened a closet that was totally full of sleeping bags and bed rolls. They didn’t think too much about it at the time, but looking back, that was a sign that something wasn’t right.
They set up on the floor and stayed for a few days. Then the uncle drove them to the bus station, and they went on their way. A year later, the authorities took the uncle into custody. It turned out that he had been picking up young hitch-hiking backpackers, then taking their lives.
The guy telling this story was 100% certain he had slept in the sleeping bag of one of his victims.