Witnessing a potential bad situation- WWYD?

[tallulah]

The other evening we were driving home and had stopped at traffic lights. We saw a young woman walk past, right on the edge of the main road, quite fast. Behind her but more over on the pavement was a man walking really fast. Both DH and I looked at him and said "he's chasing her". DH described his walk as a Monster Walk, and altho difficult to actually describe, this summed up how he was moving. DS (21 but has ADHD) said no, the bloke was listening to an ipod and just walking fast.

We drove past really slowly (couldn't stop where we were), and there was another young woman walking the other way. We went up the road and round the roundabout and back down and the two women were chatting where we'd seen them and there was no sign of the man.

I have never ever looked at someone before and felt so sure they were up to no good. I got a real chill from it. There was nothing odd about him or the way he was dressed, just a feeling that both DH and I had at the same time.

Obviously if the other girl hadn't come along we'd have had a dilemma, because if we'd stopped she didn't know us and there were 3 of us in the car- so we could be worse IYSWIM. Would she have even got in the car?

WWYD in this situation? Has anyone else ever been in this situation or felt that a situation was just not right?

Mmm tough one. I would be tempted to keep an eye on the papers and just write down a description of the bloke, the time and date you saw him just in case it fades from memory.

It could be that your ds had it bang on (and as he has ADHD he might see the situation with less emotion) and that the guy was listening to his iPod and walking in time to Eminem, which looked strange to you and your dh.

Or could the girl have been walking fast away from him because she'd had an argument with him and the girl was her friend come to offer emotional support? Which would explain why he disappeared when her friend came on the scene.

Nowt you can do other than perhaps give the police a quick call, more for your peace of mind, to just explain because if there had been any incidents in the area your info might come in useful and if there haven't and there is a future incident your story would be on record and they can contact you for more info.

Yes,years ago.
I was literally just getting off the bus,looked over at a young girl(maybe 4) with a woman (not sure if it was her mum) A seat became free,and she said quite normally,but not nicely, "sit there".
The little girl quick as a flash sat dow,and just sat with her eyes transfixed on the floor. Something inside of me sort of went 'ping',I do not know why.But something was telling me things ain't right here. I got off the bus,and just stood and stared at the bus driving away,I stood there ages.
I don't know. I often think about it and get a chill up my spine. I don't know.

Sorry to post and run but my internet connection went down (a weekly event now- thanks Virgin).

I did wonder about contacting the police but TBH I have no idea what he looked like. I couldn't even guess at height/ hair colour.

Interesting thought that DS might have had the right idea. I've been looking in the local paper but no local attacks reported.

Difficult one but at least you saw the woman chatting with another woman and the man gone, so you didn't have to worry about her. It could have been her boyfriend pursuing her after a row. It could have been someone with criminal intentions (but by the sound of it she was aware of him and getting away).
Or it could have been unconnected. Years ago I was walking down the street one night and vaguely aware that a man was walking not too far behind me. Suddenly he started groaning, 'Hello, hello, hello...' so I quickened my pace, had another glance, tried to work out if he was weedy enough for me to take out with one good punch, etc... then all of a sudden he went 'WITHALIGSSOUTISSLESSDANJRUSSS!' and I worked out that he was listening to 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' on his headphones and singing along and probably hadn't even noticed I was there.

(Oh, for younger MNers, that's ).

I don't know, but gut instinct, we feel it for a reason

I'm not easily spooked. Ex police, sensible, confident. But last summer I was geocaching with my dc in a field on the edge of a village. There was a wooded area next to the edge of the field and it just didn't feel right

I didn't stop to look, listen investigate, I just felt we needed to get out of there and onto main road. Never, ever felt like that before.

Thing is, while it's sensible to remove yourself from a situation you percieve as dangerous, a lot of these bouts of 'Woooo, danger' are a load of old willy and there is/was no threat at all, so agonizing about whether or not to warn people about something is a bit of a waste of time.

My first thought when I hear your description is junkies, walking fast and all that jazz.

How were they dressed?

The girl didn't look like a junkie. Normal size, wearing trousers and T shirt. Man wearing a woolly hat, coat (I think). It was only his walk we noticed.

MRB: Even if they were all junkies, that wouldn't mean it's OK for one to attack another.

No, but I didn't think anyone was getting attacked, I'm just saying that that would explain fast walking and weird behaviour.

I think you did the right thing. If she hadn't met another girl, I would have stopped and say, "You might think I am crazy but the guy behind you seemed to be acting suspiciously. I just wanted warn you and if you are walking home, we would be happy to drive along to make sure you get home safely."

You would want someone to help you in that situation. There are more people willing to help you than do you harm.

I think I might bib if I couldn't stop the car at all- Just to make sure everyone knew I saw them.

Otherwise I would stop if I could