What we have to talk about right now honestly makes me beyond angry. How could I not be?
But to read about how someone threw up a wire booby trap along a dirt bike and ATV trail, at a perfect height so as to tear your head clean off, it just boils my blood at the callousness that someone has for another person's life.
That's the story coming out of Colorado where state officials discovered two wire booby traps along well-used off-road trails. And the cops are now asking the public for help determining who set these deadly traps.
According to the San Miguel County Sheriff's Department, which posted about the incident on Facebook, "On the evening of Wednesday, July 10th, a second wire deliberately strung across the Wilson Mesa trail was discovered by a dirt bike rider. This wire, like the last one, was clearly intended to seriously injure motorcycle riders and/or others recreating in the area. Thankfully, this rider observed the wire prior to striking it and alerted authorities. Attached is video footage of the actual discovery of the wire."
As mentioned above, the wire in the video is at a perfect height so as to intersect between a rider's body and head, i.e. their neck, and cleave it straight off. The Sheriff describes the trap as "an act of indiscriminate violence. Placing traps such as this could result in serious injury or death to our citizens and visitors."
And if you don't believe me in the deadliness of such a trap, a long time ago, I knew a kid who struck a wire fence, similar to the wire in the video, while snowmobiling. He was immediately decapitated. So for a person to place such a trap along a trail used by both dirt bikers and ATV riders, it's a heinous thing that tells me they were looking to kill someone.
I get that a lot of people are having issues right now, but how could a person even be OK with setting a trap like this for someone you've never met?
“This despicable act is a severe public safety threat to our community," said Sheriff Bill Masters, adding, "We are engaged in a rigorous investigation to catch this loser. Meantime, we can’t emphasize enough to have situational awareness when recreating in this area.”
And you read the first part right, this is the second wire trap the police have found in the area in recent months. As such, a rider was already injured in that prior wire booby trap, though they escaped with only a few broken ribs. The Department initially released this statement after the incident, "A malicious individual(s) hung a wire across two trees Saturday afternoon in an apparent effort to cause injury. The deputies removed the wire but believe this egregious act could happen again and would like people in the area to exercise caution."
After the first incident, a reward was set for $500, but now officials are upping the reward from $500 to $1,000 for anyone with "information leading to the arrest of the suspect." The reward could be upped, however, as the police have stated some private donors are looking to match the $1,000.
I know that most folks who ride either dirt bikes or ATVs have pretty good situational awareness, but please, please, please, stay safe out there.
If you know of, or someone you know, has any information regarding the two wire booby traps in Colorado, you can contact the Sheriff's Department at 970-728-1911, and you may remain anonymous. Let's hope they find this person before someone is injured or worse.
