Last night as I parked the trailer to unload my horse in the dark after a lesson up at my trainer’s, someone drove past our place into the desert, drove around there some, turned around and parked outside our (latched, not locked) property gate. We noted it was not normal for them to drive by, but as we’re on an unmarked access road and there is an actual named road about 700’ past it, there’s always the possibility the person turned too soon.
Anyway, got my horse unloaded and in his stall before the car parked there. We went inside, locked the doors, and soon saw him on our property walking around with a flashlight in the dark, wandering around the house and near the arena which is at the front of the property (barn is at the back and had lights on - he stayed out of the lights.)
We’re two females, no weapons in the house. I think had I seen this idiot going toward my horses I might have stupidly gone out with whip in hand or something… Anyway, I called 9-1-1 and talked the Sheriff deputies to us since we’re not the easiest to find. Guy was pounding on the door a few times and continuing to walk around our property as if looking for a way in, and the 9-1-1 operator advised me not to even talk to him given trespasser in the dark in a rural area is rather scary.
I won’t have a gun because my mother is not entirely mentally where she should be, and her judgment can be very poor - she would end up doing something very wrong with it, thinking she was right at the time. We have dogs who are not that protective but who I wouldn’t want some idiot shooting anyway if they were - and we can’t let them have full run of the property because coyotes and other dogs keep digging under the exterior fence. We fill holes as soon as we find them, but animals who get out of fences disappear quickly around here, so they stay in the house/backyard and double fenced.
The neighbors DO have a gun, as well as some large males living there, and we didn’t have their number on hand at the time - but they came over to ensure us we can call them any time - they spotted the guy walking around and were looking for our number to see if we were ok when the cops arrived. Next time I would likely call the police on one phone and neighbors on another to ask if they know anything.
What would you do? This is pretending you’re a short, not very strong, unarmed female in a dark, rural area. I’m not looking to be berated, but for a way to plan in case anything similar happens in the future.
Resolution of the story from last night, because of course I should share that:
The cops got him on the street when he was leaving, and he was a process server who had the wrong address. He didn’t leave any contact info and I didn’t get any paperwork from the cops, so don’t know who he is or I would have called and bitched out his company today. He told the cops his phone was broken so he couldn’t use it to figure out the right house to go to, and personally I think that’s no excuse for tresspassing and scaring the crap out of a couple of women. I don’t know if they issued a citation or not. He had NOT attempted to deliver whatever he had during daylight or he would have known where he was going. He also would have known the house he was trying to deliver to was deserted and empty.
