I
had just finished photographing the landscape of
Sandstone Bluffs
in El Malpais National Monument.
I
was walking across a dirt and
gravel parking lot, heading back towards my
van when a backpacker with a stocking cap and small daypack
approached me.
He said, "hi".
"Hi", I
smiled back.
I glanced down towards the
ground for no more than a second or two, and then
back at the man. In that brief moment, he had pulled the stocking cap
down over his eyes, pulled out a small automatic
gun, and was pointing it
at me.
Another man
with a cowboy hat and a scarf covering his
face appeared behind the first man. It looked like a scene out of an
old western movie. The backdrop
of sandstone and lava outcroppings completed the scene.
The men told me to
get into my van. "We're bank robbers and we
might need a hostage to get past a police blockade".
I started to walk towards
the driver's seat, but they stopped me.
"Give
me the keys, I'm driving", demanded the guy with the stocking cap.
He ordered
me lie down in the back of the van. They
covered me up with my
own sleeping bag. One of them told me
not to look at them or they would kill me.
For two hours they drove around until it got
dark.
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During the drive they introduced themselves,
"I'm Daniel Boone and this is my partner Davie Croquet".
Early on in the drive,
one of them asked if they could have some
of the oatmeal cakes I had brought along.
"I think you can have anything you want", I
laughed, "you've got the gun".
They replied, "I guess your right" and
laughed back.
That seemed to break the ice. We visited
with each other for two hours as we rode along. I was friendly and
upbeat with them. In turn,
they were friendly to me.
All this time I stayed under the hot, sweaty sleeping bag. I never
looked at them.
After about two hours the
vehicle came to a stop; and the two guys got out. Standing next to the
van, they discussed whether to kill me or let me go.
Then they came and spoke to me, "You seem like
a nice guy. We're gonna let you go."
In the pitch-black night, I
followed one of them down
into an arroyo while the other walked behind me with the gun. At the
bottom of the arroyo they had me lay down on my stomach while they hog-tied
me.
"We won't
tie you up too tight. You
should be able to work your way free by
morning. We just need a head start", one of them
explained.
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"You'll get your van
back, but it'll be messed up inside. Don't worry, your homeowners insurance
will take care of the stuff in your van, and you car insurance will fix or
replace the van", he added.
They hiked back to my van at the top of the
arroyo, leaving me alone, in total darkness, in the dessert night.
Within thirty
seconds of their departure, I
had worked my way free. My kidnappers
hadn't even reached the van yet.
I wasn't sure what I should do. Should I lie there until they drove
off? What if they changed their mind and came back? I didn't
have to contemplate long.
I heard a train coming very close by.
There was a train track at the end of the arroyo. The noise gave me the
cover I needed.
I quickly scampered up the side of the arroyo and lay still on the
ground. I watched my former captures get into my van and drive away.
I had no idea where I was; but I was free!
From time to time, as I
walked down the tracks,
I could see headlights way off in the distance. I
hiked through the desert towards the lights.
When I finally got to the road, the driver of the second vehicle
to pass by stopped and picked
me up.
I have been thanking God ever since for His
protection. |
