Woman In Black Under Police Protection In Virginia


The mysterious “Woman in Black,” whose sightings have intrigued the internet for the past few weeks, was under police protection in Virginia when she was surrounded by a group of about 50 curious people. Police in Winchester, Virginia came to the woman’s assistance and took her to an undisclosed location to feed her after the incident Tuesday evening.

MSN News notes that the Winchester Police Department released a statement about the incident saying, “She has expressed to officers that she wants to be left alone and is asking that the public respect her wishes.”

They did not release the woman’s name, but she is thought to be Elizabeth Poles, a 58-year-old former resident of Georgia who grew up in Alabama.

The Woman in Black has garnered attention from TV stations, police, and at least 51,000 people on Facebook who followed her journey from Ranger, Georgia to Winchester. According to her brother, Poles is a U.S. Army veteran and mother of two children who was receiving treatment at Veterans Affairs hospitals to cope with the deaths of her husband and her father.

But her brother Raymond told the press that she recently began to wander for months at a time. Poles became a mystery when she was spotted wearing black robes, carrying a black backpack, and using a walking stick along highways between Georgia and Virginia.

The New York Daily News reports that the Winchester Police Department’s statement on the Woman in Black added that the department “wants local residents to know that she will be part of the community and to respect her privacy if you see her in the area.”

The Facebook page tracking Elizabeth Poles’ journey recorded sightings of her in Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Virginia. The page’s administrators assured in a statement, “This page was not created as a means to harass, stalk, endanger, or belittle this woman. It was created in hopes of reminding people to open their hearts and become a little less judgmental and more willing to lend a hand to those in need.”

The page adds that those who spot the Woman in Black should offer her food and water if she wants it. It’s possible that’s exactly what happened Tuesday night when a curious crowd surrounded the woman near a bank in Winchester.

While the statement asserted that Poles will stay in the Winchester area for now, her brother hopes she returns to Georgia, adding, “I wish she would come back and let us help her.” For now, the Woman in Black’s journey has ended — or at least paused — in Winchester, Virginia.

[Image via Twitter]

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