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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Found a phone in my garden - isolated property - shit scared

791 replies

ScarredBunny · 24/04/2020 19:12

Name changed for this - Sorry if this seem trivial, I know people are dealing with far bigger things at the moment.

I found a phone lying on the ground, about 5 yards from my house.

We live in an isolated property about a mile away from the first road. We have not have any visitors , maintenance people for many weeks (obviously). Delivery drivers, yes, but they would not have any reason to go to this part of the garden/couldn't access it during daytime without us seeing something.
At first I assumed it belonged to one of us, but no! Confused
Phoned the police, have a ref./case number, etc. but they're busy and will get back to us when they can.
The police said to take the phone indoors and wait for their call/visit.

I am worried that the next visit is going to be from whomever the phone belongs to.
The phone is dead as a dodo but I assume it still can be found?

What should do?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
8
TheGreatWave · 24/04/2020 21:35

Was there not a seagull who picked up a dog or something like that?

You will probably never know the answer though op.

SirVixofVixHall · 24/04/2020 21:37

Gulls can be massive. Black backed gulls eat rabbits whole. Easy for them to carry a tiny dog as flesh and skin is something they are able to get a grip on.

Classiccar · 24/04/2020 21:39

To those who are sceptical about police coming out for ‘just this’.

We had similar & they came out. This could be the final piece of a jigsaw that you don’t know about. In ANY scenario....

Someone that has gone missing. Someone that was ill and tried to seek help. Someone that was scouting the area. Open your minds a little.

Don’t be so narrow-minded.

Yes, the police DO come out ‘just for a phone’. There is a hell of a lot of information on one.

CherryValanc · 24/04/2020 21:40

Would you normally notice people arriving at your property @Slith?

Does seem odd, but possibly a walker. Lots of people now taking long walks all heading to the same placing thinking they'll be the only ones. The remoteness of you're place would appeal right now. Not everyone respects private property in the countryside.

elQuintoConyo · 24/04/2020 21:40

Blatant place mark Grin

suspiciouscowboy · 24/04/2020 21:41

increase your security OP, this doesn't sound good OP, that would scare me

lozaa · 24/04/2020 21:42

Place marking to find out what the police said

TheCountessatHotelCortez · 24/04/2020 21:43

I’d be a bit scared as well Op, our last house was rural, a mile from a main road as well and this would have give me the heebies. I agree with another poster Upthread, do you have oil heating? There have been warnings from our local police that oil theft is up a lot around here

TutorWoes · 24/04/2020 21:44

Perhaps an animal has dropped it there? Foxes pick things up and carry them. Has it got bite marks on it?

Imactually13 · 24/04/2020 21:44

I think you’re being worried for no reason, it’s probably nothing too serious, but you never know it could, but probably isn’t, something

Sarahandco · 24/04/2020 21:45

Do you live near a recycling centre?

CeibaTree · 24/04/2020 21:47

I hope you get to the bottom of this OP and it is nothing sinister. This does make me feel glad I don't live in a remote spot as I think I'd get freaked out a lot for things far less mysterious than this!

FlamingoAndJohn · 24/04/2020 21:48

I’m amazed that the police came out for this.

ScarredBunny · 24/04/2020 21:50

Hi sorry had dinner too! Thank you all for your thoughts about this-
I was amazed the police turned up, how good is that?

They said they had trouble finding our place so it give you an idea as how isolated we are, they seemed very surprised when I showed them the exact spot where I found the phone.They took the phone and said they will let us know what they find, I wouldn't have thought they would disclose any info, but we'll see.

I am really happy to not have this thing at home anymore.

OP posts:
bloodyhellsbellsx · 24/04/2020 21:51

Difficult to say if the poster is being OTT when you can’t picture the layout of the property or know if there is a bridlepath passing by etc but taken at face value if I lived rurally, in a place walkers rarely pass and I found a phone in my garden I’d be freaked out too! Maybe look into CCTV if the house is really isolated, I think it’s quite reasonably priced now!

Namepound · 24/04/2020 21:58

Glad to hear that the police came out but doubt they’ll let you know what’s on it.

If I was you I’d be making sure all the doors are locked and try to forget about it - I wonder how it ended up there. If you’ve got teens who have limited screen time I’d put my money on it belongs to them.

Geepipe · 24/04/2020 22:00

Deffo get cctv installed op. I would be concerned too to live so rurally and find someone had been on my property at night.

perniciousdot · 24/04/2020 22:03

I was amazed the police turned up, how good is that?

To be honest I don't think it was good at all. I think it was a ridiculous use of the police time. Particularly as they attended in less than an hour. Where I live in Scotland we have people waiting days to have someone come out to take a statement about assaults yet here you are having them nip out immediately for why is essentially lost property.

They took the phone and said they will let us know what they find, I wouldn't have thought they would disclose any info, but we'll see.

They will not be doing that. They have pacified you.

LesFleursDuMal · 24/04/2020 22:05

Why are some of the posters surprised?

I was once house-sitting my boyfriends house while he was on a business trip. He really does live in the middle of nowhere, what's so strange about that (one poster was amazed by this). The house is in Wales, on a hill top, the nearest road is really far, no neighbours at all, the nearest village is also rather far.

Anyway, after a few nights there, I found three beer cans outside, nearby a window. Two empty, one had some left. Must have been some lager-loving fox or an alcoholic crow. The cans weren't there before. The house IS remote, no footpaths, no nothing. Whoever that was, was there for some reason and wasn't just passing by in the middle of the night.

Naturally, it freaked me out A LOT, I admit. I phoned the police, then left and went back home to mine.

My boyfriend has an alcoholic brother. Erratic, aggressive, not a nice person. I knew about him, but I've never met him at that point. Turns out, it was him there. The funny thing is, he was living in a city 4 hours drive from boyfriend's place. He came to see him, but saw me through the window and was watching me (I was dressed, if anyone wonders). Then he left. He never explained anything.

In a way I'm glad I didn't see him peering through the window at night, that seriously would have killed me, haha.

About police paying OP a visit because of the phone. I can believe it. I lived in a tiny Welsh coastal town before. The biggest crime there were teens stealing cans of coke. My brother's expensive bike got stolen. It was crime of the century there, police paid us multiple visits, started an investigation and even did a repeat visit after a month (!) to regretfully inform us that the bike wasn't found (very nice policeman, he seemed genuinely upset).

ScarredBunny · 24/04/2020 22:06

I'm back sorry, had dinner too, then posted and lost the post.

Here goes: so the police came, they said they had trouble finding our place, which gives you an idea of how isolated we are, then they seemed really quite surprised when I showed them the spot where i found the phone.
They thought it probably was someone lurking, who might have rushed off because of the dog and dropped or lost their phone in doing so.
Not really a surprise then.
They're going to let us know what they find on the phone, now that is a surprise because I would't have thought that they would share much info with us, but we'll see.

Not great because really I liked the paraglider idea Grin.

OP posts:
Northernsoullover · 24/04/2020 22:11

The police may well have turned up as part of a wider problem. There is so much crime in my area at the moment. Vans being broken into, bicycles, car theft. I'm guessing a lot of crime sources (shops) are off limits and also people are taking advantage of quiet streets.

justasking111 · 24/04/2020 22:19

We put up motion sensor lights back, side and front, that does mean the dog woofs if they go off. They are not expensive and when you live in an isolated home it is nice when they come on as the car comes up to the house.

Nitpickpicnic · 24/04/2020 22:20

If you’re concerned the owner might come back poking around for it, put a big notice up on your house/garden wall saying the phone was given to the police at xxxx.

Whiskas1Kittens · 24/04/2020 22:22

If there have been local issues, e.g., a nasty burglary, a local person that is involved with drugs, they may well be eager to take a phone. A phone contains loads of info.

Then again, they just be having a quiet day.

womaninatightspot · 24/04/2020 22:23

I live rurally and this would freak me out. There's no walkers or anyone with an excuse to be up our drive at the moment. I'd assume a lurker too who'd been scared off by the dog. All sorts of crime at the moment, I'm assuming the more nefarious of us will not be respecting lockdown but may find their regular activities curtailed and be going further afield. Tonight I'm double locking the doors.