A WOMAN believes she had a lucky escape when she was "stalked and hunted" by notorious serial killer Israel Keyes – in a cemetary.
Cristina Alverson, 35, was visiting her grandfather's grave on his birthday to pay her respects at Restlawn cemetery, Vider, Texas when she suddenly felt like she was "in danger."
She noticed a man staring at her before starting to sprint towards her at full speed.
Sensing danger, she leaped up and ran to her car as fast as she could – as the stranger chased her.
Petrified, Alverson made it to her vehicle, jumping in and locking the doors, before driving off as quickly as she could, but not before she got a good look at the man's face.
Shaken, she put the terrifying incident behind her and it was only four years later when she was browsing online that she noticed a familiar face in a news article.
She discovered the man who had stalked and chased her in the graveyard was the serial killer and rapist Israel Keyes, who is thought to have murdered at least 11 people before his 2012 arrest.
Keyes had buried "kill kits," which had rope and a gun in them, across the US which he would dig up before selecting victims at random.
He was known to hunt and abduct his victims from cemeteries and public places.
Only three of his victims have ever been identified.
The FBI believes his murders totaled at least 11 after he drew 11 skulls on a piece of paper, reportedly using his own blood.
The picture was recovered from his cell after his death.
Keyes took his own life in Anchorage Correctional Complex, Alaska, in December 2012.
Alverson is still haunted by the incident and feels lucky to have escaped and avoid being the serial killer's next victim.
The body piercer from Bridge City, Texas, US, said: "I was visiting my grandfather’s grave and all of a sudden I felt someone staring at me – and I realized I could be in trouble.
"I was kneeling in front of his grave with my head down, mourning and crying, when my body went into full 'danger is close by' mode.
"I looked up to see a man running full sprint from the woods surrounding the cemetery, and forced myself to get to my truck as quickly as possible, without the man getting too close to me.
"By the time I made it to my truck he had gotten about 50ft from me.
"I jumped in and locked the door, much to his apparent displeasure. He threw his hands up in a huff like his favorite team had just lost a football game," Alverson continued.
"I started the truck and started to drive out as fast as I could, but not before driving right past him. I didn't break eye contact for a second, and neither did he. So I got a really good look at his face.
“It was absolutely terrifying, but when I found out who he was a few years later I couldn’t believe it.
"I believe he had picked me to be his next victim – but I managed to have a lucky escape."
Alverson is convinced she could have been Israel Keyes's next victim had she not managed to outrun him.
She went home and discovered her mum, Roxy Alverson, 62, a retired nurse, had also spotted a man hanging around the cemetery.
It wasn’t until a few years later in Summer 2016 that Cristina found out who he was when she downloaded an app featuring news and crime stories.
As she was browsing through, she came across an article with the mugshot of someone she recognized.
She said: "I came across one that made my heart drop.
“I was so shocked because I recognized the man straight away. It was the man who had tried to abduct me.
"Israel Keyes – most known for murdering a girl in Alaska, dismembering her body, and dropping the pieces into a frozen lake.
"He would bury kill kits in places long before he ever committed the crimes.
“It made me sick to read about what he had done and to think that I had come that close to him."
Alverson also discovered that a man went missing the same day she was nearly abducted by Keyes and believes he could have been a victim.
"After the incident in Alaska, he had traveled into Texas, for a wedding in a city not too far from where I live and had disappeared for a bit and no one in his family knew where he was," she said.
"He was arrested in that city, and brought to the prison one city over from me before he was extradited back to Alaska to stand trial.
"About a year ago I found a book about him, that provided a lot of the details I now know.
"He had been killing for years, and no one knows what the actual death toll is. He eventually killed himself in prison.
"At the end of the book about him, he described some of his favorite places to abduct people – public parks and cemeteries.
"I often wonder if there's a kit buried in those woods.
"Israel Keyes was fast, but I was faster and I'm glad we didn't officially meet.
“I am so relieved I managed to get away from him – otherwise I'm convinced I would have been his next victim."
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