Several women walking the Fee Fee Greenway early Friday morning say the same man approached them, asked for their phone numbers, and then followed them for a stretch after they said no. Maryland Heights police are now asking the public for help identifying him, and they've stepped up patrols along the popular pathway while they look into it.
According to First Alert 4, the Maryland Heights Police Department alerted the public after receiving several reports of a man approaching women and trying to strike up conversation before asking for their numbers. When the women declined, police say he followed them for some time before eventually leaving the area. Officers describe him as a Black man, roughly 20 to 30 years old, standing about 6 feet to 6 feet 2 inches tall with a slender or athletic build and shoulder-length black hair worn in locks or braids. He was reportedly wearing a black hoodie and carrying a black bag.
Police have stressed, per the same report, that no crime has been reported in connection with the Friday morning encounters. Still, the department is asking anyone with information to call 314-298-8700, and officers recommend that anyone who feels unsafe on the trail find a safe location and call police or 911 rather than confront the person themselves.
A Trail That Stretches Well Beyond Maryland Heights
The Fee Fee Greenway itself is no minor side path. The paved, 2.8-mile multi-use trail runs along Fee Fee Creek and is anchored by the Maryland Heights Aquaport and Community Center on its eastern end, with Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park sitting at the western end, according to TrailLink. Managed in partnership with Great Rivers Greenway, the trail links directly into the Creve Coeur Lake network and the Katy Trail, forming a roughly 16-mile interconnected corridor spanning St. Louis and St. Charles counties. That connectivity means safety concerns on this stretch ripple outward to commuters and recreational users well beyond city limits.
It's also not the first time the greenway has drawn police attention. The City of Maryland Heights issued a public release in September 2025 investigating a separate physical assault that occurred on the same trail, a history that helps explain why residents are on edge over reports of a stranger following women who turned him down.
New Chief Oversees Response as Patrols Increase
The increased patrols are unfolding under a relatively new police chief. Jamison White was sworn in on April 21, 2026, as Maryland Heights' fourth police chief, following the retirement of longtime Chief William Carson, as Hoodline previously reported. Any suspect eventually identified in connection with the greenway reports could face scrutiny under Missouri's harassment or stalking statutes. Under Missouri Revised Statutes § 565.091, second-degree harassment covers acts committed without good cause and with the purpose of causing emotional distress, a Class A misdemeanor. Separately, Missouri Revised Statutes § 565.227 defines second-degree stalking as purposefully engaging in an unwanted course of conduct that causes reasonable fear or distress, also a Class A misdemeanor for a first offense.
How to Report Concerns Along the Pathway
The city maintains a Citizen Access portal for non-emergency park and trail maintenance issues, but officials direct anyone facing an immediate safety threat or witnessing suspicious activity in progress straight to police dispatch or 911. Notably, 911 calls placed in Maryland Heights are now routed through a regional dispatch hub, a shift the city authorized in July 2026 to ease staffing shortages among local dispatchers, as Hoodline has covered.
Maryland Heights draws roughly 9 million visitors a year to its parks, trails, and commercial hubs like Westport Plaza and Creve Coeur Lake, on top of a resident population topping 27,000, according to city figures. With that much foot traffic funneling through a trail system connected to county and state greenways, police are hoping someone recognizes the description and calls in a tip before the man's identity remains, as it stands now, unknown.
