"Woman in black" needs police help after attracting large crowd in Winchester, Virginia
A mysterious woman, dubbed online as, "the woman in black," required police assistance after a crowd of around 50 onlookers surrounded her in Virginia.
Reuters reports that the incident took place in the town of Winchester. The woman in black is believed to be a 56-year-old woman named Elizabeth Poles. She is a veteran of the U.S. Army and a mother of two, originally from Alabama.
As a large crowd gathered, the police became involved and escorted her to safety. They gave her a meal, and she told the police she would like to be left alone. She also said she was planning on making Winchester her home.
She has been spotted all around the southeastern United States. She was first spotted in Ranger, Georgia, walking along the roadside in all black, using a walking stick to support her. The distance from Ranger to Winchester is almost 850 miles. A Facebook page tracking her journey has more than 50,000 likes.
Her brother has said that she is dealing with the loss of her husband in 2008 followed by the loss of her father in 2009, according to Reuters.
Winchester is a town of around 26,000 people. It is nestled near where the borders of Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia meet.
Images on social media showed a woman whose face has been heavily tanned by the sun.
The #WomanInBlack is revealed: https://t.co/fF0Qm21pR2 pic.twitter.com/Q6lil51Lnu
— The Root (@TheRoot) August 1, 2014
Other pictures showed a figure with a haunting appearance.
Are you as intrigued by this woman as we are?#womaninblack pic.twitter.com/VBbNS1fgdL — Jubilee Catering (@JubileeCatering) July 29, 2014
Still more images show her being escorted by the police after they came to help her in Winchester.
The journey of the mysterious #WomanInBlack has come to an end in Winchester, Va.: https://t.co/idfEGE8hQd pic.twitter.com/81ff20tW9v
— NBCWashington (@nbcwashington) July 30, 2014
