NewsLocal NewsCuyahoga County

Actions

Robbery, attempted robbery reported in same Metropark where 2 people were shot to death

Posted
and last updated

CUYAHOGA COUNTY, Ohio — Police are investigating a robbery and an attempted robbery that happened within two days in the Rocky River Reservation last month—the same park where two people were fatally shot in June.

The first incident happened July 23 at Morley’s Ford Picnic Area in Fariview Park and was initially reported to park rangers by a friend of the victim, according to Cleveland Metroparks police report.

The report states that when police interviewed the victim on July 25, she told them she was smoking a cigarette in a parking lot when two men walked up to her. One of them put a gun to her head and demanded money, authorities said.

When the woman told one of the robbers that she didn’t have any cash, the man forced her back to her car and she handed over money she had in her purse.

On July 24, a Cleveland Metroparks employee and his mother were traveling through the reservation near Valley Parkway and Hogsback Lane when the driver of another car tried to flag them down.

The report states that the employee’s mother was driving him to work at the Rocky River Management Center when she stopped to make a turn. A dark-colored sedan approached their vehicle and the driver started waving his arm outside the window and beeping the horn.

Thinking that the driver may need help, the woman pulled up next to the other vehicle, where she saw a person in the back seat holding something she believed to be a gun, authorities said. The employee and his mother sped away unharmed. The incident was reported as a robbery in the police report.

Authorities said they reviewed security camera footage from the area and didn't find any vehicles or incidents matching what was reported.

RELATED: FBI emphasizes brazen nature of Rocky River murders while asking for public's help