Saturday, August 27 – This morning Morgan, Steve and I drove to Steamboat Springs to spend the night.  All three of us were in desperate need of sleep, and thought if we all got away, even for just one night, it would help.  We are extra cautious, and make sure that none of us mention the trip to anyone, just having learned how stalkers will follow you for years, and through multiple moves, anywhere in the country my vigilance only grows.       

Morgan’s puppy Wylah, and our Newf, Tessi came with us, and we make a pact to not talk about the stalker during the trip.  Steve’s older brother’s family are all there, with all of their dogs – 15 including our two, we were quite a crowd wandering along the river.  Morgan was taking pictures constantly, for possible Christmas cards, all the pooches together, and a lot of smiles.  Morgan even put everyone out in the shallow river, with the dogs, for just that perfect picture, she got some great shots and funny expressions. It was fun and light-hearted, and a good time for all. 

Not talking about the stalker didn’t last long as everyone wanted to hear about it.  They were all worried about Morgan.  Everyone in the family wanted to help with suggestions and their suggestions were all very good, but one in particular seemed to make a lot of sense to Steve…a wildlife camera that we could hang outside.  We had no experience with one, but it’s a camera that is meant to be strapped to a tree out in your happy hunting grounds, and then triggered by motion, it will take pictures of any prey that should happen by.  Some take pictures day or night, and that sounded perfect.  Maybe if we could just get a picture of the stalker the sheriff’s could confront him, even arrest him, maybe just knowing his picture had been taken would cause him to stop. The idea was quite a ray of hope.

The cabin we stayed in was 2 floors, but tiny.  We all slept upstairs, mattresses on the floor and it was happily quiet and safe.  I could not help but wonder out loud if Morgan was on a second floor at home if she would be safer (we lived in a one story home at the time), no one could stand at her window if she was on a second story.  Steve thought that with all our detectors outside no one could get near her window.  Morgan reminded us we weren’t supposed to be talking about the stalker on this trip.  It was hard to leave him behind us.   

One of the 15 dogs our family had with us in Steamboat Springs today

Sunday, August 28 – The second day we were there Morgan sent a text to her friend at 10:52 am, “Please God tell me you’re free tonight/late afternoon.” I don’t think Morgan wants to sleep at home tonight – she was really happy to be away for a night with us in Steamboat, and I think she is hoping if she stays at someone else’s house tonight she might be able to be rested up enough to have energy for her first day back at school on Monday.  Morgan gets a text message from her friend Cooper at 12:51 pm, “We never did Kirstie’s picture thingambob!”  Morgan says, “Dam”, He asks, “When did you say you were coming back?”  Morgan answered, “I know! I’ll be back in a few hours.  Probs like five or six? You left already right?”  Cooper says, “No I’m leaving tomorrow.”  Morgan said, “Oh duuuuuude!  If I bring my computer and camera into town tonight can we do that?!”  At 1:01 pm Cooper said, “Yes piz”  Morgan answered, “Yay!  I’ll call you when I’m on my way in. :)”  Cooper said back, “Much love.”  Morgan sent a text back to him, “:)” 

Morgan was constantly trying to go and be with her friends, taking pictures of her friends, graduation pictures, their pets, going away parties, all the fun stuff.  She listened to her friends, giving them a shoulder to cry on at times, and at times like these, crying on their shoulders as well.

On our way home, on Sunday the 28th, Steve has a question for us to ponder before answering.  Do Morgan and I really want to catch this guy or just stop him?  We don’t have to think at all before answering that catching him is the outcome we want.  Steve agrees that that is his wish as well, he just thinks it is more dangerous.  We are using that word danger more and more these days, before it meant being barefoot and stepping on something sharp – now it has an entirely new meaning.  Morgan and Steve went into Walmart on the chance they had a wildlife camera, and they did, one that took pictures at night.  Morgan is very excited and they also get more motion detector lights to better cover the yard.  It’s late when we get home and Morgan sends a text to her friend Cooper, “I just got home!  I’m gunna take the quickest shower ever and then nab you?  Where are you at?”  Cooper texts back, “With Calder over at his house.”  Morgan says, “Yay! I will be over shortly, with wet hair!”  Morgan sleeps at her friend Calder’s house tonight, to keep the peace and quiet going.

At 2:00 am (it is now after midnight so it is August 29th), Steve and I are woken up by 3 loud knocks on the master bedroom window – inches from my head.  Morgan’s not home – it’s just Steve and I.  Now our procedure is to grab our flashlights, along with our new pepper spray that dyes the skin on contact, and Steve goes out the front door, with me taking up position to watch out the back.  Bright lights go on, then off, and alarms beep in our room as Steve covers the yard.  Somehow the stalker did not trip the alarms, and motion lights we don’t know, as we would not have seen them in our sleep.  After a search of the neighborhood Steve reports that only the usual lights are on.  He’s wondered how the stalker picked his way up to the house without setting off an alarm, he’s going to get more and start moving them to new locations every night.  There is also something else he is noticing, before we thought the stalker showed up very shortly after Morgan came home, now he seems to have changed up and is just showing up with or without Morgan’s arrival.  Tonight Steve had Morgan drive his truck, and leave her car at home.  Was that enough to have fooled the stalker?  Because if it had that supported the theory that he was not here for hours, just minutes at a time and/or he or she was watching for the car that Morgan always drove and that car was in the driveway, as though she was home. 

Steve had wanted to hang the wildlife cam earlier, until he found out Morgan had all of the memory cards with her when she took the camera bag with her.  Two months ago if someone had told me they were putting a wildlife cam up in hopes of catching the stalker in their yard – I don’t think I would have known what they were talking about.

Click here to read about the 28th day of Morgan’s stalking & the first PICTURE OF THE STALKER! https://morgansstalking.com/?p=845