My wife and I were driving home from a party at 2 AM when our car broke down in the middle of nowhere.

This was before the days of mobile phones, so we had no choice but to wait. After about an hour, a college-aged man happened to pass by and offered to drive us to town. We gratefully accepted and, upon arriving, tried to offer him money for his help. He simply smiled and said, “Happy to help.”

Years later, my wife called me in tears. Her voice trembling, she told me to check the news.

To my shock, the young man who had helped us that night wasn’t a college student at all. He was actually a 35-year-old wanted criminal who had robbed over 30 people in remote areas, preying on stranded drivers late at night.

The details were chilling. He’d either pretend to be a lost hiker in need of a ride or pick up stranded motorists in his car. Once he gained their trust, he’d rob them of everything and abandon them in the middle of nowhere. He was wanted by police across several states.

I couldn’t believe it. Why hadn’t he targeted us that night? Maybe it was because there were two of us, or perhaps my height and muscular build made him think twice.

Whatever the reason, we were incredibly lucky. To this day, I still get chills thinking about how close we came to being one of his victims.