Several new chatters started coming into the chat rooms that many of the regulars did not recognize. This was not unusual because chatters would drop by these chat rooms every day. There was a chatter who went by the name of Teacher, while another used the nickname The Enchanter. The third chatters nickname was Moccasin Joe.
Some of their profiles were impressive to say the least. One claimed to be a high school science teacher from San Diego, California. He said he loved the state of New York and wanted to open a bed and breakfast somewhere in the Catskills. He was considering taking early retirement to pursue his dreams.
Another one's profile said he was a police officer from Maryland and was seeking a lady friend for possible marriage. His profile also said he was married for two years and his wife had died of cancer five years earlier. He was lonely and needed someone for friendship and possibly marriage in his life.
The third chatters profile said he was in the real estate business and had recently moved back to the United States from Germany. He was an American, but was born in Berlin. He was a widower and loved to travel. He was tired of living alone and was looking for a lady who shared the same interests.
There were many likely candidates for William to choose his next victim. Now all he had to do was pick one.
He was able to fit right in with the rest of the chatters. By the way he communicated with them; one would think he had always been there. He began to study the profiles of different women in more detail. He would listen to their conversations picking up bits of information about them as they talked. He found out what schools they attended in a certain town or state and what restaurant they frequented more than others. These were little things a total stranger would not know.
Through the help of the Internet the police were able to trace the IP server number William was using in chat while he was stalking Stardust. It belonged to a Public Library in downtown Detroit, Michigan. One of the librarians there recalled a frequent visitor to the library. The description she gave matched William perfectly.
Do not become too complacent and think just because you are in your own home you will be safe from the horrendous crimes created by these monsters that prey on Internet users everyday searching for their next victim. They are very clever and study their victim's profiles until they know them as well as anyone. What can you do to make sure you never become a victim?