Your worst cyber stalking nightmare became a reality for a young woman named Katie whose only crime was hanging out with a seemingly innocuous New Zealander when she lost the friends she was traveling with in Hong Kong last New Year’s Eve.
Reese McKee, 25, found a lost Katie crying on the sidewalk last year. “I just cheered her up. I sort of have this undeniably bad sense of humor that no one can resist laughing at,” he humblebragged to the New Zealand Herald. But then after a night of dancing, the two parted ways. Katie gave the unattached prompt, “find me.”
So one year later, after no attempt at contact, McKee started acting like the creepy dude who realizes he’s alone for the holiday and starts serially messaging every girl in his text history. Only since McKee didn’t have her number, he posted Katie’s photo (taken on his phone) and the fact that she lived in Washington D.C. on Facebook, imploring the international community to help track her down.
“This is a call to arms, for those with a romantic soul,” he wrote on the Facebook page he created, which was shared more than 8,700 times. “While the main aim of this event has been to reconnect with the now infamous ‘Katie,’ it’s also about me, finding myself and who I know I can be. I hope to find her. And along the way, find myself.”
Although McKee acknowledged that his quest “turned into a massive ‘let’s stalk every Katie in the DC area,’” it turned out to be successful. (Although Katie had deleted her social media profiles in the aftermath.)
But the worst part of this saga? Even after he found her, the IB Times reports that:
McKee admits he hasn’t contacted “Katie” yet, saying he’s waiting for the attention to die down before he reaches out.
Talk about just liking the chase.