In the 360-degree photograph above, a homeless camp can be seen Monday in Valley of the Moon Park, just a yards from the roadway but completely obscured by trees. App users, click here to see the interactive image.

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Anchorage retiree Tom McGrath lives near Valley of the Moon Park, where two men were recently murdered.

Even before the Aug. 28 double homicide, McGrath avoided the forested stretch of Chester Creek trail between C Street and Valley of the Moon for personal security reasons.

“It’s a heavily wooded area with lots of inebriates,” said McGrath. “It’s kind of scary. I don’t want to get beat up.”

Rather than using the trail, McGrath accesses the park by taking neighborhood streets, particularly in the evening.

Others are doing the same, or avoiding trails all together.

“I’m terrified,” said Ansel Sandone, at a public meeting last week in Valley of the Moon involving Mayor Ethan Berkowitz and Anchorage Police Chief Chris Tolley. “Since those murders I won’t go into the park at night.”

Some residents say they are avoiding the Chester Creek Trail and others not only because of the double homicide involving Bryant “Brie” De Husson, 25, and Kevin Turner, 34, but because of two other double murders on Anchorage’s beloved but edgy urban trails. The trail system is considered one of Anchorage’s most enticing features. It’s a network of some 250 miles of walkways that cut through the city, enjoyed by walkers, skiers, bicyclists, homeless people, visitors, moose and other wildlife. Some of

the trails cut along salmon streams popular among anglers.

But the greenbelt trails have lately turned into what seems like scary places for some residents.

"It's very concerning, of course. I'm a 50-year resident of Anchorage. You have to be way more vigilant when you walk on the trails now. You can't take anything for granted," said Marilyn Pilifant, president of the Rogers Park Community Council.

Police in late July said a woman reported that an unknown assailant attempted to sexually assault her while she was running on a trail near East High School in the early evening.

Earlier that month, Brianna Foisy, 20, and Jason Netter Sr., 41, both of Anchorage, were found murdered on the Ship Creek Trail in Downtown Anchorage on July 3. Whoever killed the pair remains at large and the public hasn’t been told yet how they died.

About six months earlier on a cold January morning, police found Selena Annette Mullenax, 19, dead at Point Woronzof near the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. Foriegnne Aubert-Morissette, 20, was also found nearby. He was mortally injured and died while on route to a hospital. Police have not said how the two were killed. No arrests have been made nor charges filed.

In the wake of Anchorage’s near-record 25 homicides so far this year, police have warned the public not to be alone on trails, in parks or on isolated streets late at night or early in the morning.

Besides the warning, they have released very little information about the city’s unsolved homicides. The paucity of details has left many residents feeling anxious.

“Is it someone shooting random people from the woods? It is someone stabbing people? Is it drug deals gone wrong? If you want us to adjust our behavior, tell us how these murders happened,” said Sandone, who lives in the North Star neighborhood across Chester Creek from Valley of the Moon.

Sandone is among those who feel police could be more transparent and forthcoming with information about Anchorage’s soaring murder rate without compromising open criminal investigations.

In the absence of details about what’s driving the Anchorage homicide rate, people's minds are racing “and it always goes to the worst-case scenario,” said Sandone.

Police chief Chris Tolley did little to dispel one theory -- popular on social media and in recent national headlines -- that a serial killer might be on the loose in Anchorage.

“There is just nothing to report to you on that,” Tolley told a member of the public who asked him about it at a public meeting at Valley of the Moon Park last Wednesday. “The worst thing we can do is speculate.”

At the same meeting, Berkowitz pledged to improve lighting along the Chester Creek Trail, at least along the portion at Valley of the Moon and leading to Westchester Lagoon, two of the city’s most popular parks.

The city is also installing emergency locator numbers every half mile of the Chester Creek Trail and on Ship Creek.

The idea is that if someone is assaulted they can call 911 and give the dispatcher the emergency locator number where they are to help police locate the crime scene and the victim more quickly.

Voters will also decide on a bond proposal in April that, if approved, would make lighting and safety improvements on the Chester Creek Trail, Valley of the Moon Park and the Westchester Lagoon area.

Some neighborhoods are discussing forming community patrols in an effort to get control of crime. Rogers Park Community Council is scheduled to have Spenard community activist Mark Butler speak to members on Monday evening about what it takes to form a community patrol.

North Star Community Council, which includes Valley of the Moon, is also expected to discuss a similar plan when it meets on Wednesday evening. Given the level of concern about the recent murders and a perception that property crime is on the rise in neighborhoods along the Chester Creek trail, Berkowitz and Tolley are expected to show up again at that meeting.

During the Valley of the Moon Park meeting last week, many residents brought up the need to do something about the many homeless camps that line the Chester Creek Trail. One problem area is a wooded parcel that abuts the park to the east. It’s a popular spot for the homeless to take refuge.

The city owns a portion of the property while another chunk is owned by Greater Friendship Baptist Church on East 13th Avenue in Fairview, according to a municipal property map.

Some residents want the trees thinned so that the area isn’t so dense which making illegal camping less obvious.

“I think they should cut down and brush out that whole area from 16th Avenue all the way to the creek,” said McGrath.

Others want to keep the forest as it is.

McGrath said anyone who owns wooded private property needs to take steps to curb homeless camps. That’s what he did when he owned land on West 36th Avenue and Dorbrant Street. When homeless camps popped up, the city called him right away.

“I did what a responsible owner does. I cut down a lot of the trees and I cleared out the mess,” McGrath said.

McGrath said the church should take some responsibility for cleaning out the camps in the Valley of the Moon woods.

The church’s pastor wasn’t available for an interview. But the church’s administrative assistant said the congregation has previously taken steps to remove homeless camps and she suspects they will do it again.

“Maybe next summer,” said Gloria Coleman.

Kris Craig lives near Valley of the Moon Park and attended last week’s public meeting with the mayor and the police chief. Craig said he’s more worried about murderers than homeless people.

“I agree with one of the gentlemen who said, ‘We’re not going to solve the homeless issue overnight.’ I highly doubt it’s the homeless people who committing these murders,” Craig said.

Scott Menzies drew applause at the meeting when he said he didn’t want the meeting to devolve into a “blame the homeless session.”

“I want to know, you know, is there any leads to who is killing someone across the creek from my house? I want to know, are we actually safe? It doesn’t feel safe. I can’t see across the creek from my house. When it’s nighttime I don’t know if someone is looking at me. It’s freaking me out. I’m less worried about homeless people and more worried about someone getting shot. I think that’s a big concern,” Menzies said.