Strange incident in the woods

[Livelaughlovesigns]

It’s still playing on my mind and was just really odd.

Today, Dh and I took Dd, 5 and our dog in the woods/fields by our home. All was fine and we were heading back home, I was walking ahead keeping track of our dog and Dh was with Dd (she walks slowly, wants to stop to play/have adventures etc)
I saw a person walking behind Dh who was swaying from side to side and just seemed very odd, I felt a bit strange and started to call to Dd to run to me (as in a game-run as fast as you can/who’s the winner type thing) Dh had also noticed and started to walk more quickly, he then picked her up and started to hurry to me and we got to an open part where there were houses and cars. Dd was getting upset and shouting about why he picked her up etc and we were watching this person in the distance acting so strangely, staggering everywhere and then suddenly running.
A man came up talking on his phone (Russian I think and looking around everywhere) Dh asked him if he was looking for someone, the man didn’t speak English, so Dh started motioning towards the woods where the person had ran ( Dh says it was a woman)
Dh then went with the man to show him where she was and Dh said he saw this man find her
We explained to Dd, without trying to scare her.
As we were walking back we were discussing it and saying why did we try to run away, why didn’t we try to help them.
It was just a really really odd situation, we in these woods almost daily, nothing ever happens.

I keep wondering about this woman and what on earth had happened to her, Dh thinks she may have been drunk because of New year and wandered back and lost her way (the woods are next to the beach)

Would you have done the same thing? My initial feeling was fear and to get dd away

We need a diagram

Could there possibly be some random trees dotted around the side of the beach or would that be muddying the waters (sorry sea) somewhat?

I think you did the right thing getting your family to a safe location. I wouldn't have engaged with the man, especially given the russian/eastern european lingo - many of these sex trafficking gangs come from that neck of the woods (I mean that as no insult to the very many more legit, law abiding folks from that part of the world). I would have called the police, but its only natural to try and help, a British failing in some ways!!

What jumps out at me in this muddled creative writing tale is that you added the detail of a man speaking Russian because it seems to add a touch of scariness and imply people traffickers, criminals or something else dodgy.

It's entirely normal to hear people speaking all sorts of languages and unless you know what he was saying you would have no idea what exact language it was. It could have been Ukranian, Polish, Czech or a myriad of Slavic languages. Which is nothing out of the ordinary considering how multi cultural the UK is. But the trope of "strange man speaking foreign language" in your little dog walking wood is clearly enough to warrant a thread about it getting people to speculate about all kinds of nasty things.

Imagine if people in Russia started internet threads about a woman talking on her phone in English whilst looking for a man who might have passed by there earlier.

Because depending on what moment the OP is posting about it it also happens to be a small wood near a road / beach / bars & restaurants and clearly a place they take their dog daily (as probably do countless other people).

….Until that is they see something icky & suddenly it’s “the middle of nowhere” and they have their 5yr old’s life to protect. 🤣

Bloody hell, give OP a break. Are people this lacking in things to do? Some of these posters need a NY hobby. OP, you came on for advice on whether people would have acted as you did - I think it’s a resounding no, there was probably a better course of action and you’ve reported it now so can’t do much more. Hopefully you will hear an update of some sort from the forums you’ve contacted that can put your mind at rest.

Apparently this creative tale takes place in a ‘third country’

I have just read the whole thread and I don’t see anybody thinking that this was funny or entertaining. It is horrifying, unbelievable that two adults, one a man, ran scared from a disorientated woman (which you did realise at some point) and then led a man straight to her and left her.

🤣 🤣 🤣

@User4363463 Please read the thread, we’re not in the U.K. where we are is a big Russian community, it’s not unusual to hear it being spoken and not unusual to encounter Russian people and families, nothing scary about it.

to add for information’s sake, the symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis (usually referred to as DKA) include slurring of words and an inability to walk in a straight line - as if very drunk, in other words. Someone with these symptoms would need medical help quickly. As the parent of a type 1 diabetic, it worries me enormously that this could be overlooked by people around him and he end up in a coma or dead somewhere. Please do always consider that things may not be as they appear when coming across someone in an apparent drunken state. I’m not having a go, OP, I can imagine how you felt in that moment and did what you needed to do to feel safe. I just wanted it to put it out there.

We SO do!

Yes, but its widely known these gangs are often from the eastern european area - so a man talking in that language, looking for a potentially drugged woman would give me at least some cause for concern - even if it might not be warranted (as most slavic speakers in the UK, and there are many are not in any way criminal)

I think I understand the chain of events. So you're in the woods walking with your DH, DD and Ddog and then a person starts swaying around behind your DH. At this point, you assume man. You call your DD to you. Your DH, still at this point thinking it's a man, runs over to the two of you. Person disappears into woods (I think). At this point, neither of you have clocked it's a woman.

Russian man then appears. He doesn't speak English but he and your DH can converse somewhat in the local language. Your DH gathers he is looking for someone and leads him to the person that he still does not realise is a woman.

DH and Russian man find the woman. It's at this point DH realises she is a woman. You don't learn she is a woman until DH tells you after the incident concludes because you were with DD and Ddog. DH assumes the man and the woman are husband and wife and that's why you assumed they were too- because your DH recounted it to you from his perspective.

If I'm right, then you didn't do anything wrong at the time because you only learned she was a woman and not a man after your DH had reunited the pair. Your DH shouldn't have left them together though one he realised- or should at least have left and called the police straight away. Both of you should have called the police ASAP. But I don't blame you for being freaked out.

Yes, friend's husband has type 1 and collapsed in the street and people stepped over him assuming he was drunk for a while until finally someone stopped and asked him what was wrong

@shreddednips Exactly this, thank you, I’m not very good at explaining it succinctly…quite clearly

It probably is as you and your husbands thought and hopefully the lady is absolutely fine. Don’t upset yourself with comments from people who weren’t there and don’t know how they would have reacted. Your daughter came first and I think that would the case for the majority of people

I’ve reported this to be removed as I came with genuine concern and it’s become entertainment. Thank you though to those who have helped I feel sick with worry

Thank god you are here with a sensible summary, things were getting a bit wild

@Moonwatcher1234 Thank you 🙏

This is important. You absolutely should call the police and log the incident. You said the woods are near a beach, could the people have come from a boat?
my concern is also that the woman needed help.

@AllEars112232 We have reported now

How do you know he was on the phone to her if he was speaking Russian?
to be honest it looks like answers haven’t done your way so you’re trying to turn it around a bit.

@Chichimcgee I assume he was, why would answers need to go my way?? For what? Ffs

Despite what the world wants us to believe these days… I find it very hard to believe that 2 adults couldn’t tell the difference between a male or female and that you confused a vulnerable woman for a dangerous man to the point you were both scared. Seriously?