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

I meant odd of the pair of them. Op seems to think her husband taking a random man to show him where an obviously scared / unwell woman was apparently hiding in the woods was a perfectly fine thing to do.
It beggars belief, really.

@Echobelly Yes that was exactly it. I don’t think I’ve explained it properly

I do think it’s harder to react in the moment so to say that you should have done differently is not to say that it’s not understandable that you didn’t. But reflecting on and discussing that type of situation is the way to respond better to similar things in the future.. I do agree that letting the police know might be worth doing now, as there isn’t anything else you can do really.

She wasn’t hiding from him or running away from him, I mustn’t have explained this properly

I dunno, I still don't think I'd have told the man where to find her. Could be any kind of situation. Obviously hindsight is a wonderful thing though.

@Beezknees He was on the phone to her trying to find her and she was obviously lost and drunk by the looks of it and needed help. We thought this was the right thing to do

May have been entirely genuine but might not. It's difficult to say what one would have done but I think my DH would have given me our child and then checked up on the woman

But your dh basically accosted this man to ask him was he looking for her, and then led him to her?

If the man didn’t speak English how did you know he was looking for her?
no way would I have left a vulnerable woman alone with a man who could have even a stranger.
really between you and your DH could you not have helped her rather than directing a man (who you have no idea of his intentions) to her?
if it was a man I totally understand why you’d leave that situation but what harm would a woman have done to your DH really?

But he didn't speak English?

If the man didn't speak English, how so you know he was looking for her?

I dont understand why your husband would do what he did

Did she seem pleased to see him? Did they seem like they were comfortable together? Did you wait around to see?

The man was looking to find the woman and on the phone to him, Dh helped him to find her, said she was fine and glad to see the man but obviously drunk. I was wondering why she was walking lost through the woods drunk

*phone to her

In this situation with us, one adult would have looked after the child (and remained close by), the other would have spoken to the lady. She may have been unwell, not drunk

Why do you keep repeating this? You've already said he spoke no English.

Did it not occur to you that she could be drugged and he's some kind of gang leader?

And why didn’t you mention the woman had a phone and was talking to him?

If you felt you'd done the right thing you wouldn't have posted on here about it. The poor woman could have been drugged, a diabetic or drunk... who knows?

I wouldn't have handed her over to a strange man. I would've called the police to make sure she was happy to go with the man.

It might be worth logging what happened with the local police just to make sure they're aware. They might already have these people on their radar.

@ItAintGonnaGoDownEasyIfItAintCheezy We’re in another country and spoke the language (some not fluent) of where we are, but no English, it all happened so fast

Drugged and escaped I mean

The thing is though it's not obvious. It's very unlikely but she could even have been drugged. I'd always err on the side of caution, although I appreciate you were trying to do the right thing.

My thoughts too or I suppose she could have been diabetic. Either way I would have tried to help.

Or a pimp even. It sounds outlandish but it happens.

Could you ring the police and speak to them about this encounter earlier today? Explain there was a vulnerable woman disorientated in the woods and she was joined by a man who was searching for her. That now you've thought about it, it could be something and it could be nothing but you wanted to make them aware.