I had a very strange experience 12 years ago in Starved Rock state park, IL. It was so bizarre at the time I never discussed it. I began reading the Missing 411 stories a few weeks ago and realize what I encountered fits into the Missing 411 profile. Additionally, since many of the Missing 411 stories border on the unexplainable and bizarre I feel what I encountered was not unique, that it was part of an actual phenomena. Here is my story.
I was visiting my GF in Chicago. On a sunny and calm winter day we decided to go for a hike at Starved Rock state park, IL. I am an avid hiker and being on leave from Iraq I wanted to take in some cool, fresh air. We hiked the park for several hours. In late afternoon we started heading back to the car. About 1/2 mile away from the parking lot we came into an area where tree branches were broken and pulled towards or over the trail. Most of the branches were broken high up, I'd say 8' and more off the ground. I'd lived in WA before going to Iraq and knew something of Sasquatch areas. So I told the GF it looked like a Squatch area due to the branches broken off up high and pulled over the trail. That's about the time things started to get strange.
Soon after mentioning this I felt like someone was staring at me. It's like if you go in a room with a lot of people and someone is focused on you you get an uneasy feeling and can tell you're being watched. It was like this but stronger. I started to look around to see who was watching me. It was winter and the forest was visible 100s of feet in all directions. There was a group of walkers several hundred feet behind us and no one in front of us but I saw no one staring at me. As we passed through the 'squatch' area I began to have the feeling someone was behind me, following us. I looked around and listened but saw and heard nothing. There was just the people 400' or so back on the trail and they were talking amongst themselves. They weren't looking our way. The sense of someone being behind me was persistent so I kept looking behind me I'd say at least twice a minute. But there was just the group way back. The feeling of being watched is one thing but feeling like someone is close behind you is something else. It is more disturbing. I told the GF to go further in front of me and let her go about 20' in front because I had a strong sensation of a nearby presence just behind us.
So I turn around not more than 30 sec.s since the last time I looked back and there is this woman there. She was walking but coming up on me fast. There was something way off about her speed. She was walking when I spotted her but her speed was much faster than her gait. It was as if she was on a people mover escalator like in an airport. She was coming up fast and was I'd say no more than 15 or 20 feet behind me when I saw her. I was rather alarmed and glared at her. She stopped when our eyes met. I gave her a look like 'WTF are you doing coming up on me like that!'. We stood there staring at each other. Neither of us moved. She had her head cocked back, to her left and looked at me from the corner of her eyes in a slightly alarmed 'you caught me' type of look. She was completely normal looking, like a local Chicago lady, late-50s, wearing a bright red winter coat, gloves, slacks, etc.
In hindsight there are a few other things besides her speed which stand out. The first thing is there was no sound, no footsteps, no rustling in the woods nothing to tell me to turn around other than the strong sense of something behind me which I'd had for a bit . At the speed she was moving she would have had to have been running hard but I heard no footsteps. She was not breathing hard and her mouth was closed. Her gait was a walking gait. She was not running. However, she was moving towards me at a running speed. I mean fast. When she stopped I'd say she was less than 20' from me. At the speed she was moving in 1 or 2 seconds she'd have been on me.
The next thing that stands out is her features. She had no distinguishing features. None in her hair, skin or clothing. No shadowing or skin hues, dimples, etc. As a former Army criminal investigator I know to look for distinctive markings on people and clothing. There were none. I'd estimate her height at 5'10". Her clothes were of uniform coloring and indistinct. It was like she just stepped out of a department store. Her bright red coat was pristine with a uniform hue to it. There wasn't even shading -which there should have been given the clear sky and low sun.