Nashville woman goes to walk a trail. Then she says watching true crime saved her life: ‘Flip phone in 2026 is never good’

A relaxing walk with your mom and the dogs shouldn’t require an exit strategy. However, one Nashville woman says a series of increasingly strange encounters on a local trail had her mentally preparing for the worst.

According to her, the red flags started piling up fast: a man in dress shoes carrying a flip phone who insisted people were following him, a group of men lingering nearby, and a gut feeling she couldn’t shake.

Then, as she and her mother headed for the trail exit, she says the men began following them. Fearing the situation could escalate, she started calling friends, creating a record of her whereabouts, and even dropping hair follicles behind her as potential evidence. In her comment section, viewers share their own unsettling experiences.

What Happened on the Trail?

While being an app primarily for comedy, TikTok can have some hard-hitting stories. This time, Leticia Rodriguez (@leticiaxrodriguez) shares a story that rocked her to her core and wants to use it to help others.

It seems it did the job because it quickly amassed 13 million views and over 11,000 comments. Her text overlay reads: “How watching true crime saved me from a dangerous situation today.”

Rodriguez says she decided to go on a walk and pinpoints the trail as Old Fort Park in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  She highlights that she wanted to go to the park because there was a cafe she really wanted to try. She goes and takes her mom and dogs along and after they get their coffee, they set off on the trail.

Rodriguez notices that the trail was particularly secluded and didn’t have many people on it. They come upon a bridge with a little rest area and bench, and decide to take a break.

As they’re giving the dogs water, a man approaches them after Rodriguez had already noticed he had walked by. He asks a strange question: “Are [the dogs] friendly?”

One of them was, but the other sensed something off and started barking at the man when he got closer. He retreats slightly and then he says something that has Rodriguez’s body sounding all the alarms.

“I just had to come over here and talk to you guys because I’m being followed,” she recalls him saying.

It Takes a Dark Turn

In her video, Rodriguez makes sure to specifically describe what the man was wearing and how he looked. He was wearing a white T-shirt, gray basketball shorts, and dress shoes. He was bald, had sunglasses on, and looked middle-aged.

The weird part was that he was carrying a flip phone. This is important as Rodriguez believes he was plotting something. When he tells them that men are following him, Rodriguez notices two men on either side of the rest area entrance. In short, they were basically trapped.

She notes that they were both wearing blue shirts, hats, and jeans. Rodriguez signals her mom to leave and simply tells the man to “stay safe.”

His response? “I’m just going back to my car to get some protection.”

Rodriguez says that from her experience watching true crime, she knew not to suggest calling the cops. “As soon as you say something about the police or signaling that you feel threatened, that’s when they start doing whatever they’re gonna do,” she explains.

She chooses to walk in the other direction of where the man was heading and starts calling family members and friends. When one picks up, she talks loudly so the men know she is being waited for. She notes that the men were also speaking into their flip phones.

As she passes one of the men while speaking, she hears him say, “Cut the cell tower. This won’t take too long.”

‘My blood pressure dropped’

After the comment she overheard, Rodriguez starts panicking and heading back through the trail. She deliberately takes a detour and realizes the men are following them. This is when she decides to lick all over the coffee cup and drops it on the trail.

“I hate littering,” she says. “But in this moment, I felt like it was necessary because I had no idea what was gonna happen to us.”

She reveals that she also was dropping pieces of her hair and discarded her hair tie on the trail as well. She says the three men get quite close to them but when they made it to the end of the trail, they draw back. Rodriguez immediately calls the police and reports the incident. They arrive and start searching the area.

Now, Rodriguez only has hopes that this might reach women everywhere. She notes that she had seen solo women running through the trail with headphones on, something that could be dangerous in a scenario such as this. One of the police officers told her that many people try to do it to intimidate or scare others. She advises her viewers to stay alert.

What Happened Next?

Rodriguez posts a few other videos with more information about what she did afterward. Even though she had called the cops that very instance, she also tried going in person to the Murfreesboro police station and filing a report.

However, they told her she couldn’t because the men didn’t ever harm her. They did say they would station a police officer near the park for the next few weeks. Rodriguez also contacted the cafe she went to and told them about her experience, hoping they give their future customers some safety guidelines. They responded kindly and heeded her advice. She also notified the local Parks and Rec department.

@leticiaxrodriguez Definitely need to carry extra pepper spray next time ? • #walkingtrail #danger #murfreesboro #truecrime #fyppp • @Bailey sarian @Clues Podcast @Ashley Flowers @Outlore Podcast @Mile Higher Podcast ♬ original sound – leticiaxrodriguez

Viewers Are Terrified

Many viewers, and non-true crime enjoyers, are puzzled over what tipped Rodriguez off.

A comment with 135,000 likes claims, “The dress shoes is what got me worried because what.”

Similarly, a second viewer shares, “Dress shoes don’t leave a distinguishable footprint like tennis shoes. You are so smart and fortunate.”

Others were concerned about the technology choice.

“Flip phone in 2026 is never good,” says one viewer.

Another speculates, “A flip phone? Because no gps?”

A third theory was: “The flip phones were probably some kind of walkie talkie they use.”

Lastly, one viewer states, “The concern is they didn’t care you weren’t alone.”

The Mary Sue reached out to Rodriguez via email.

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