Three youths have a menacing encounter near Beckley witnessed in Raleigh County, West Virginia

Open Map

It was the summer of 1975, and I was about to enter the eighth grade at Stratton Jr. High School. My best friend had moved away from our neighbor hood in Beckley to Stanaford Acres in the spring. He had invited me to come out and spend the weekend with him in hopes of planning a fishing adventure down to Piney Creek. On Saturday morning, he and a common school friend of ours, and myself ,left out on foot at approx. 7:00am. With fishing gear,lunches and other necessities in hand, we made our way through the woods, past Kliningsmiths Pond, and over to the branch that would lead us to down to Piney Creek which was about a 3 mile hike. After spending the day fishing and doing things that teenage boys do we began to head back up the mountain. As we walked and talked, moving along the rail road that snakes its way through the gorge, it became apparent to us that we may not have been alone. Eerily we all had the feeling that someone, or something, was watching us, and following us from a dist...