A Trooper's Hunch

I’ve been a highway patrol trooper for 21 years, all of them right here in Alexander County, North Carolina, a beautiful area in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. North Carolina State Troopers work alone. Day in and day out, I’m all by myself behind that wheel, and I can get to feeling solitary at times.

It had been a busy shift that day last February. I’d been on patrol since 6:00 A.M. and was scheduled to work until 3:00. Since I’d worked through lunch, I decided to head home a little early and eat with my wife, Linda.

No sooner had I finished my soup and sandwich when I got a strong feeling that I should head back to the station.

“Are you sure?” said Linda. “It’s almost three o’clock now.”

“I know. It doesn’t make sense. I just have a feeling I’d better go back.”

Linda didn’t bother arguing. She knew I had little hunches from time to time on patrol. I’d just get the notion to take one exit instead of another, or to hang around a bit longer at a certain spot. But this time the hunch was stronger than usual, almost like something was telling me to get back. Minutes later I was cruising down Highway 90 toward the patrol office.

As I drove along, the radio crackled to life. “Attention: missing three-year-old boy at Hidden Acres Mobile Home Park. Mother’s name Mary Dyer, boy’s name Sammy. Last seen with his dog on the back porch of his home.”

The woods around this area were thick with snow and the temperature was well below freezing. No kind of weather for a three-year-old to be wandering around lost in. I picked up the radio and got the boy’s address, then turned onto a back road that took me straight to the mobile home park.

I was the first at the scene, and Sammy’s mother was plenty happy to see me. “He was right out there on the back porch with his dog. I told him to stay put while I went inside for a second, but you know how boys can be.”

Continued on page 2: I saw something move at the edge of the woods... »