On June 20th, 2004, a restaurant manager stood at the host stand of a seafood spot in Orange County, California.

It was the dinner rush, and he was on takeout duty.

So when a fairly frantic customer came in asking about their to-go order, the manager quickly hurried off to grab it.

He found the order, and he carried it back, and as he rang this customer up, he could tell this customer was in a huge hurry.

They kept looking over their shoulder and tapping their fingers on the counter.

And after everything was done, the customer basically took the food and literally ran out.

Now, the manager definitely thought this customer was acting really strange.

He had never seen anybody sprint out of

the restaurant before. But quickly, he got distracted with another order and kind of forgot about the

whole thing. That is, until a few days later, when police showed up, asking the manager to tell

them everything they could remember about that strange customer. But before we get into today's story, if you're a fan of the Strange, Dark, and Mysterious, delivered in story format, then you come to the right place because that's all we do. So, if that's of interest to you, the next time the follow button has a blinding headache, offer them some aspirin. But don't tell them, it's not really aspirin. It's just really strong laxatives.

Okay? Let's get into today's story. On Monday, June 21st, 2004,

72-year-old Jane Thompson drove her car down a road through the city of Laguna

Nagel, California.

She was on her way home

from a weekend trip to Los Angeles, which was about 50 miles north of Laguna Nigel.

And because LA was so chaotic and full of activity and constant stimulation,

Jane actually really appreciated this commute back home, you know, this 50-mile drive.

It was a time to be by herself and sort of

decompress from being in the city. So Jane used to live in Los Angeles, where she had worked for

decades in the film industry. But she had retired and moved to Laguna Nigel seven years earlier.

And this move had been like a total lifestyle change for Jane, because her career in LA had been fast-paced and exciting.

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