So I think I saw someone being abducted nearly 15 years ago

[IJustWantABrew]

Okay, so before people start drawing breath and angrily typing responses please read the whole thing..

I'm 27 now, when I was about 12 I think I saw someone being abducted and dragged into some woods. The area I lived in was remote and it would be unlikely that someone would have been walking there, so I guess she would have been driven there. I remember being on my bike with a friend and seeing a woman being dragged into this small wood just off the road. I remember being terrified and me and my mate cycling as quickly as we could back home.
I never told anyone what I saw, and for all I know I could have imagined it, but seeing as details are still quite clear 15 years on I can't work out how real what I saw was.

I can remember bits of what happened, I think it would have been between 2000-2004 and it would have been the summer. We wouldn't have been in that area unless it was a nice enough day. So I guess summer would be the right sort of time.

I can remember being scared, terrified to be fair, and I remember the look in the woman's eyes.. again terrified. I remember a man standing behind her and dragging her into this wooded area with his hand over her mouth.

I've googled to see if a body was ever reported as being found, or even if an assault ever took place, but being so remote and me not remembering a lot about it, makes me searching for information difficult.

Now to the wwyd bit... would you report this or not. I live out of area so I assume I can speak to my local police dept (I'm in the uk) the reason I've not reported this as I don't know if I've imagined this, but on the other hand I don't think I did.

I would report it. It may be something or nothing but your information may be needed even after all this time. Growing up back in the 70s my friend's mum disappeared and was never seen or heard of again except on occasions when her mostly absent, violent and drunk father would turn up and start ranting. It was always assumed he took her somewhere and killed her but there was never any proof.

Not sure what I'd do to be honest. I think if you could recall reasonable facts, such as what the woman looked like, approx age, description of the man, car etc then the police may be interested especially if it was an unsolved crime. But having said that, if your recollections are patchy then there is nothing new that your remembering could tell them.
Can you recall the exact location even if you can't remember the facts? Do you still speak to the friend or have contact on Facebook? Do they remember it too?
I don't know what I'd do, but if it's playing on your mind then perhaps you should try to recall it, write it down and mull it over a bit. If it was my family member I would want someone to come forward, no matter how many years had passed or how feint the memory.

I would definitely tell the police, very important in case they can connect it to anything. And don't doubt yourself, it's not something your brain would make up?

If you saw pictures you might remember more. I'd report it for that reason.

Write down what you can remember and see if you can work out the date and place more exactly first.

Can you contact the mate?

Did your friend ever tell anyone?

I would call them..you might have the missing link somehow and not know it.

I think I would write it down and hand it in to police station -then they can contact you if they need more info or it might link to a known case.

I know for certain exactly where it was, I remember me and my mate biking up there and the route we took (one of a few), the biggest time line would be 2000-2004. I think more than likely about 2002/2003. I don't think it would have been any earlier as my friend would have been 8 in 2000 and his mum wouldn't have let him go that far. I think more 2002 as he would have been about 10/11 me about 12/13, much later than that and we weren't that close.
I don't really recall a car, there must have been one somewhere as is miles from anywhere. It a good 3 miles from the nearest village. I sort of remember bits about the woman, thinks like her I think having long dark hair, I just remember her eyes and her being terrified, but again don't know if I've imagined stuff over the years.
I just don't want to waste people's time if for some stupid reason I've made it up - but I can't imagine why I would.
I don't have Facebook and I think my friend lives in Switzerland these days and I have no way of contacting him, and I can't think of the names of his friends that might know how to get hold of him.

Might have been a domestic incident of some kind rather than murder/ abduction. Or a rape. Many many crimes go unreported

Awful though. To witness as well as experience

I wonder if you'd remember more details if you went to a therapist? It sounds like you really need to talk about what you saw anyway.

I'd report it though, it could make a big difference to someone.

How odd that you didn't tell anyone at the time?

She was 12! It's not odd at all

What has made you post this now?
Not meant in an accusatory way, just wondering if there's been some specific trigger that's brought it to the forefront of your mind, or if there was something /someone preventing you mentioning it previously?

Any bit of info you give the police is more than they have now so won't be wasted time. You could bring closure to someones life.

Do it ASAP.

If you give the local police a timeline they might be able to match it up to local disappearences/attacks at the time.

Did you go to the police op? Wouldn't hurt to give them a ring, and say something you saw when you were young, has been haunting you lately, and to explain what happened. A lot of violent crimes like domestic abuse and rape don't make it to the media, maybe just a snippet in the local paper. If you're in your hometown sometime, you could ask the local library if they have any old papers on microfiche, might even help you remember what year it was more clearly.

Join Facebook so you can contact your friend and see if he remembers anything?

I do find it strange that neither of you mentioned anything to anybody. I'm not saying that in an accusatory way, just that even at 12 your first instinct once out of there would be to tell someone. You wouldn't just forget about it. And an eight year old would have nightmares. Which makes it possible that (hopefully) it's a memory from a dream or a movie that got projected onto a real memory.

Better to find your friend, see if he remembers anything and report to the police just in case.

Of course you should report it. You should have reported it at the time, by telling a responsible adult what you saw. Why on earth wouldn't you?

Can we all agree the op isn't at fault here, they haven't done anything wrong. If they did truly witness what they thought they did, and were that afraid, that's traumatic for a child to see/experience. The longer you keep something like that secret, the harder it can be to talk about it, or even to be sure it really happened or not.

Ah, the MN judgement crew:

• even at 12 your first instinct once out of there would be to tell someone
• Of course... You should have... Why on earth wouldn't you?

Every individual, and every child's responses to trauma are different. You can't possibly say what you would have done faced with this aged 12, let alone make assumptions about what anyone else would / should have done! I really don't think it is helpful to mount your high horses and can only imagine you've never experienced childhood trauma because I can honestly tell you there is no "obviously" about it whatsoever. We can't even come to a consensus here as adults so expecting a scared twelve year old to do this kind of emotional work. C'mon. Be reasonable.

Now, I would like to think I'd report it.. but I know there's a chance I'd talk myself out of it to be honest.
I hope you find a way to process this, whatever route you take OP

I have a very vivid memory of something from my childhood too OP, that was very odd and scary and I can't decide if it is real or not. Something seen (I think) by myself and two friends. No one else was involved other than a lone man. It's not something I would need to report now (probably should have at the time), but wanted you to know it's not so unusual to doubt yourself re old memories. Just thinking about it now has got me so scared I've put the bedroom light on!

I would speak to the Police. As suggested write it all down first. Maybe even visit a hypnotherapist and see if they can help you recall further details. A bit wishy washy granted, but you may be surprised what it digs up out of the vaults.

I would. Police are always asking to hear about things which may appear insignificant.
Do you remember anything about the man?
Was the woman struggling at all?

I would talk to the police before talking to a therapist or hypnotist.

They have people trained to talk to you and ask the right questions; adding an extra person could introduce new stuff or cause confusions or who knows what - it would be gutting to discover what you said could still be useful but then can't be used because it's been 'contaminated' by others.

I would report it absolutely.
Very odd you didn't at the time but that's the way it goes.
But it may not be too late! Maybe her family have been looking for her maybe she is missing all these years.
You may do something that can help them, something amazing.