Didn’t believe her

Norma survived the night in the wilderness, and a park employee found her the next morning. The rope had left a burn running across her face.

“I had chewed half of my lips off trying to get the ropes off,” she said.

But when the police arrived, they didn’t believe her.

Ossorio explained the devastating consequences:

”The police were called, and she wasn’t believed. And if she had been, two other women most likely would not have been murdered. Norma had to live with that.”

Countryman kept her story private for nearly 20 years.

Over time, it became clear just how close she had come to becoming one of Forrest’s victims. Ossorio describes the long-term impact: