SAN ANTONIO – In the last two weeks, two bodies have been found on separate trails in different incidents.
Stacey Dramiga, 63, was found dead back on Sept. 23 near a trail on the East Side of San Antonio, officials said.
The Bexar County Medical Examiner confirmed that Dramiga died from blunt force trauma to her head, and detectives are investigating it as a homicide.
A man has been arrested in connection with Dramiga’s death, officials said.
Then, on Saturday, a San Antonio Park police officer found another body on a North Side trail, police said. Foul play is suspected in this death, too.
KSAT talked to people on the trails around San Antonio who said they were worried about safety.
Some people said they’ve seen more park police on the trails, and others say they want to see more.
“The main thing we’re focused on is anomalies. We’re looking for anything that’s not where it should be. A lot of times, that may be an encampment. A lot of times, there may be somebody starting a fire,”
KSAT reporter Courtney Friedman hopped on a San Antonio Park police utility vehicle with Lt. Juan De La Pena at McCallister Park for a ride along to see what a day on the job entails.
Lt. De La Pena is the commander of the park police’s ATV section. He determines where patrol officers need to be and how many are out on the trails.
“Where we need to dedicate our director patrols to. We do what’s called crime mapping. Find out what areas are kind of hotspots for what type of activity. And then, we give the appropriate type of response to that activity. And a lot of times it may be putting more officers there, but a lot of times it may be bringing in our specialized units to kind of assist us with that,” De La Pena said.
Park officers typically patrol the same areas they know well so they can respond quickly to emergencies.
“If it’s areas that are kind of hidden, we have the smaller four-wheel drive, smaller vehicle ATVs. We have bridges here. Same thing we’re looking for in a wooded area. Any kind of development, anything that doesn’t seem right, if someone has a medical emergency,” he said.
While on the trail, there were two sets of people with neon green shirts riding bicycles.
Those are called the Trail Stewards, who De La Pena said are under the City of San Antonio and have their own director.
“There are eyes and ears that they’re driving the other way, and they see something that doesn’t sit right. They call the non-emergency number. It comes up on a keycard. Dispatch sends us out,” he said.
De La Pena helps train them and teaches them situational awareness and what to look for from a criminal awareness standpoint.
Police and stewards are all aware that after two bodies were found in separate parks, people are worried and want to make sure safety is a priority.
“We incorporate that into the target mapping, and we start having more direct to patrol in the areas which need more officer presence, and more specific patrol for whatever the situation may be, whether it be closer into the wooded areas versus just patrolling the trails,” he said.
De La Pena confirmed that when they add security to a specific trail, they do not pull resources from another trail.
“That would be counterproductive. We can’t leave another area exposed. So what we do is we rely heavily on our secondary units,” he said.
He said the most common crime they see is theft, most of which occurs in the parking lot, which is why they patrol those, too.
“You see a lot of people getting on and off bikes at their cars. Think about if you saw somebody who just kind of parks next to everybody and doesn’t get out of the car and is not riding a bike here. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s something that’s of a criminal element, but definitely something that’s going to catch my attention as an anomaly,” he said.
There is also a curfew at parks from sundown to sunrise.
“It’s easier to be victimized when no one’s around, when it’s dark, and when it’s easy to hide things. So situational awareness kind of starts decreasing when you come out during those hours. That’s why we implement that ordinance to be able to have that night curfew in place,” De La Pena said.
De La Pena also said a lot of wildlife comes out at night and might be a threat.
While park police officers are constantly keeping their eyes and ears out, De La Pena said they can’t be everywhere all at once and need the public’s help paying attention.
De La Pena said there are lots of things people can do for their safety on trails and in parks:
- Let someone know where you’re walking and how long you’ll be gone
- Turn on GPS locating services
- Have situational awareness, notice things and people around you
- Look at a map of the trail, know where you are
- Check mile marker numbers as you pass them
- Don’t be distracted by phone
- Don’t let music disable your ability to hear what’s happening around you
- Carry any defense items you’re comfortable using, like pepper spray
- Make eye contact with people so they know you’re paying attention
- Most importantly, If you see something, call (210) 207-7273.
“Don’t be scared and be that person that says, ‘I don’t want to call it in because there may be nothing.’ Let us determine if it’s nothing. It might be nothing. But if it is something, you can be the person that has a great impact on the next potential crime or issue,” he said.