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Those walking near the Donald P. Corbett Business Building or the Class of 1944 Hall late at night in the past week may have felt a presence following them in the shadows or noticed a stranger in dark clothing riding a bicycle in their wake.
Several reports received by the University of Maine Police Department indicate that an individual wearing a dark sweatshirt either riding or pushing a bicycle has been following students late at night near the center of campus. The reports spurred university spokesman Joe Carr to release a UMaine safety alert Monday afternoon.
“University of Maine Police have received several reports of suspicious activity during the late evening hours near the center of campus,” Carr wrote. “These reports indicate that a person riding or walking a bicycle has been following pedestrians. The person is described as a middle-aged man wearing a dark colored sweatshirt.”
At this time, students have not described any physical contact with the subject and no threats of violence have been reported. Still, this individual’s actions have members of the campus community spooked.
Kaitlyn Hinton, a third-year music education student, said she was followed by the alleged stalker on Sept. 21. She had been walking near DPC sometime around 10 p.m. when she noticed a hooded figure with a bicycle who seemed to be watching her from the shadows.
Hinton said when she passed the individual, he looked directly at her before stashing his bike in the bushes nearby and following her around the corner of the building near Shibles Hall. She then ran into DPC and called UMaine police, hiding in the building until officers arrived to escort her to Patch Hall, where she lives.
When she eventually left DPC, Hinton noticed the suspect’s bike had been moved, indicating to her the individual had remained in the area after she had sought refuge inside of the building.
“I stayed in there until the cops came, and when I left the bike was at the other entrance,” Hinton said. “It’s sketchy because he’s hanging around the same place.”
Madelyn Kearns, a third-year mass communication student and opinion editor at The Maine Campus, reported a similar experience to UMaine police Sunday night. After leaving the Memorial Union late that night riding a Razor scooter, she noticed someone wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and riding a bicycle follow her down Belgrade Road toward the Belgrade parking lot.
Hinton estimated the individual’s height to be 5 feet 8 inches, while Kearns said she assumed he is male “because he was bigger.”
Much like Hinton’s experience, Kearns said the individual waited for her to pass and then emerged from a shadowed area before following in “the exact same path.” Kearns noted that no interaction between her and the suspect took place, however something in the atmosphere just seemed amiss.
“You just know when you’re being followed,” she said. “You get that feeling that something was wrong.”
In both cases it seems as if the suspect only intended to follow the students, not interact with them in any way. While Hinton indicated the individual moved the bike after she had run into DPC, she said the suspect never made any contact with her, verbal or physical. Kearns, who did not seek refuge in a building and was left alone once she reached her car, said there was ample opportunity for contact but that none occurred.
“He’s on a bike and I’m on a scooter. The scooter can only go as fast as I can push it with one leg. He’s on a road bike, he could easily have caught up with me if he wanted to, but he just followed me,” Kearns said.
At the moment, it seems as though the suspect is only following female students around campus, however Kearns said this may only be happenstance.
“I was wearing a sweatshirt and a hat that night, and my hair is short,” she said. “I would have looked like a dude.”
Lack of contact or physical threats aside, Hinton expressed concern for her safety following the incident.
“It definitely feels weird walking around campus now,” she said.
If you or anyone you know has had contact with the suspect or witnessed suspicious activity around campus late at night, please contact the UMaine police department at 581-4040 or umaine.edu/police/campus-eyes; emergency calls should be directed to 911, as always. A police escort while walking on campus can be arranged by calling 581-WALK.
Bangor Daily News