Powerful message after terrifying incident on Linear Park walking trail at Athelstone

A young trail walker is pleading for women’s safety to be taken seriously after a rattling incident in broad daylight that left her fearing for her life.

A young northeastern suburbs woman says a terrifying incident on a popular walking trail left her fearing for her life – but wants her experience to raise awareness of the dangers women face walking alone.

Mikayla Gradara, 26, was going for her daily walk along the Linear Park trail at Athelstone at 7am on Wednesday morning, when she was intercepted by a man behaving “aggressively”.

Ms Gradara said she first saw the man threatening an older woman by “sticking the middle finger in her face”, before he turned around and began to approach her.

“He began walking towards me but, unless I turned around, there was only one way to go,” Ms Gradara said.

“I tried not to make eye contact and just kept walking, but he started blocking the trail so I couldn’t walk around him.

“He then started bouncing on his feet as though he was in a boxing ring before he came up right into my face … I said to him: ‘Can you please stop’, but then he jolted at me in a really intimidating movement.”

Mikayla Gradara, 26, was targeted in a terrifying incident while walking on a popular trail. Picture: Supplied

Fearing for her safety, Ms Gradara began to dial Triple-0 in her phone and raised her voice at the man, drawing the attention of a walking group nearby.

“I was absolutely terrified. I thought: ‘Okay, well if he pulls out a weapon then I probably won’t be able to defend myself,” she said.

“If people weren’t around, I really couldn’t imagine what could have happened.”

It was only when bystanders came to intervene – and Ms Gradara attempted to take a video of the man – that he fled the scene.

The 26-year-old said the interaction had left her rattled and planned to make a police report on Thursday afternoon.

“Thank gosh there were people around, but I’ve now reverted back to walking the main roads and not taking the Linear Park trail, just in case I either see him again or someone else is hanging around,” she said.

“I feel like I’ve been watching my back ever since, even the slightest noise has me constantly turning around.”

Ms Gradara wants to use her experience to encourage others to speak out and take women’s safety seriously. Picture: Supplied

Ms Gradara shared the incident to social media in the hopes of raising awareness – and said she was overwhelmed by friends and family with similar experiences.

“Lots of people said: ‘Well, don’t go walking on your own’, but you should be able to feel safe stepping out anywhere,” she said.

“Particularly after an incident like this, going anywhere you start to think: ‘Is it actually gonna be safe? Are you gonna come back to family and friends?

“I just think there should be more awareness – this sort of stuff is happening everywhere at the moment, and it needs to stop.

“People with these experiences need to be listened to and taken seriously.”