Valley Junction teens learn the man they called a friend is a fugitive convicted of rape

A game of poker cemented Troy Hall’s friendship with the man who lived in the woods. Teenagers looking for ways to occupy their free time had dubbed the stranger who slept in the trees beside the railroad tracks “Homeless Greg.” He earned the honor of a nickname from the youths of Valley Junction by befriending the teenagers who passed through his camp. For decades, local youths, particularly at a nearby alternative school, found a cure for their boredom by visiting “Homeless Greg” after school. Although he knew it might not seem wise to befriend “a homeless man who hangs out with a group of high school kids,” as Hall said, Greg ignored the warnings adults had drummed into Hall about “stranger danger,” because to the teenagers he knew, Greg was no stranger. Friends of friends had been taking each other to see the bearded man in the woods for years, and were greeted with hospitality each time. “He was just a guy who lived off the land, easy to win and easy to lose,” Hall said. “He was funny, very quiet and welcoming. He was nice to everybody.” Simply being “nice” was enough to draw Alex Colby and Amber Casey to his campfire, too. Both girls remember Greg’s friendly nature, coupled with a sense of responsibility for the well-being of his visitors. “Some of us didn’t grow up in the best housing and families, so having a place to retreat to was pretty much the best thing ever,” Colby said. “If we just needed to get away for a night, we could always come here. He always made sure we were pretty safe.”But the man with whom Case, Colby and Hall formed close friendships for years during their youth was never sincere with any of the teens in his company.Greg is actually George Hartleroad, a Wisconsin fugitive convicted of rape in 1983. He served 5 years in prison before escaping from a halfway house in 1994. On June 26, court records show, West Des Moines police arrested Hartleroad after an officer stopped him because his bike didn’t have a reflector. When officers checked his name, they found he was wanted in Wisconsin.After learning the truth, Case, Colby and Hall are rethinking the once fond memories they had with Hartleroad and are at a loss as to what to do with them.”We hung out with a Wisconsin most wanted rapist, and his name isn’t even Greg,” Hall said. The truth is especially hard for Case and Colby, who say they are both victims of sexual assault. “It feels like the relationship was built on nothing but lies and that shakes you to the core,” Case said. “Never in my life did I think that someone who cared for us as much as he did could be that kind of person. If I had known that, I probably would never have gone back there.”