Man wakes up in park with strange story

By Dustin Lemmon | Thursday, June 28, 2007

A Reynolds, Ill., man woke up at Black Hawk State Historic Site in Rock Island on Thursday morning with a strange tale of assault and attempted robbery.

Rock Island police are investigating to determine what happened to the 36-year-old, who used his cell phone to call for help at 7:19 a.m.

Police Capt. Scott Harris said the man told officers he went to a Milan tavern about midnight Wednesday and met some men who then agreed to give him a ride to another location in Milan. Instead, they took him to a parking lot on the south side of the park and asked how much money he had on him, the captain said.

The man told police someone in the vehicle hit him and he got out and took off running. He thought the men were chasing him and continued to flee until he struck his head on something and was knocked unconscious, Harris said.

The man called police after he woke up on the north side of the park. He was taken to a local hospital with injuries to his face and was being treated Thursday.

Harris declined to release many details, including a description of the vehicle and the number of men involved at this stage of the investigation.

— Dustin Lemmon