The July disappearance of Mollie Tibbetts made national news. After going jogging on July 18, she vanished in Brooklyn, Iowa. Eventually, a home security camera showed a black Chevy Malibu passing her several times, then following her. It was traced to Christhian Rivera, who had not been on police radar, but did not resist arrest, later giving details on how the crime unfolded.
Ms. Tibbetts ran away from him, and Rivera chased him. She grabbed her phone and told him she was going to call the police. He caught up to her and got mad, later claiming he didn’t remember what happened until driving towards a rural cornfield. He left her bloody body there, covering it with corn leaves.
This is not the only attack on a jogger recently. In New York City, two would-be robbers assaulted a Manhattan man who was jogging in Central Park. Though they ran away without getting any money, the runner was left bloodied and collapsed. He required several stitches. He had worked out in the park two or three times a week. He doesn’t now (at least for the time being).
In Washington, D.C., 35 year-old Wendy Martinez was murdered while out for a jog. She was stabbed multiple times. The recently engaged woman found her way into a Chinese restaurant, begging for help after the attacker fled. She later died at a hospital.
A jogging trail became a crime scene when a man assaulted a woman at the popular jogging trail along a Chicago lakefront. People who live in that area are now concerned for their own safety in this high traffic area.
If you don’t feel safe when jogging, there are precautions you can take. Obviously, you want to be aware of your surroundings, and a cell phone can be very important, too.
You may have to fend off your attacker. Stun guns and pepper sprays are popular options that can be very effective. Personal alarms can also surprise an assailant and make him run off. Some alarms can be disguised as fashion accessories.
Whatever your choice, there are options for you. Pick the option or options that you believe best suited for you, so that you can feel safer when jogging.