Cameras placed along Mount Holly greenway after alleged stalking along trail

Multiple cameras are now up along a greenway in Mount Holly after women say they were stalked walking on the trail.

Channel 9′s Ken Lemon got a first look at the new safety measures on Thursday. In the Mount Holly 911 dispatch center, police monitor the real-time video feed from the cameras, which have been placed in Tuckaseegee Park.

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The system went online last week. There are now five cameras posted on the greenway loop to help protect people like Natalie Stone, who was walking Thursday with her 18-month-old son.

“I had heard reports about people following women who were with their children,” she told Lemon.

In January, police investigated after multiple women reported a man tried to stop them on the trail. One woman told Lemon the man pointed his cellphone at her and her infant and followed them.

That man was later arrested and pled guilty to stalking a woman in another case, but was never charged with a crime in the greenway case.

“Those reports made me feel a little unsure about using the trail,” Stone said.

In March, city officials decided to make a change.

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“Wanted to ensure that no one had any reason to doubt that they were safe while they were here,” City Manager Jonathan Blanton said.

Now, you can see one of the solar-powered cameras almost before you get out of the parking lot. The cameras became a priority for the city council after those reports.

Stone said she trusts police and believes they will keep her and her son safe, but the cameras help tremendously.

“I do feel safer using this trail,” she said.

Lemon also spoke to a woman who said she was stalked seven months ago. She said she’s happy to see the cameras along the greenway now.

Blanton said police patrol the greenway about four times a day. He also said they can add more cameras and integrate them into the live monitoring system.

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