Why would someone do this??!! Weirdo alert...

Hollis300

Background: I work an overnight shift. Several times a week, before I fall asleep in the morning, I get a coffee and breakfast at a local coffee house, and sit in my car on the far end of the parking lot. The lot faces a wild field. I put some peanuts and birdseed under the trees, drink my coffee, watch the birds, and enjoy a few minutes of peace.

What happened: So I have the only car at that end of the parking lot. The parking lot behind me is also deserted. The only other cars are at the opposite end by the coffee house. The whole lot probably holds a hundred cars.

This morning another car pulled in right next to me. My first thought was that this is a tourist town and they're going to ask for directions to some monument, etc. But nope, they parked. It was a man and a woman with a small dog. The woman had a little smirk.

Technically, they had a right to park there since it's a public lot, but come on. Who does that in a deserted lot, park next to the only other car, which belongs to a stranger?

So I drove off.

I decided they were either
(1) creeps who got their jollies by pushing somebody else around, or
(2) maybe they were going to rob me.

Questions: Why would people do that? And should I stop going there in the morning?

Peppegal

I will continue to go on your daily routine but remember to always trust your instincts. Safety First.
In this day and age you need to be prepared for anything... my daughter was in a park and got stabbed four times while she was pregnant! Both survived after several surgeries. I don't mean to scare you but I still think you should be careful.

Hollis300

Peppegal wrote: »

I will continue to go on your daily routine but remember to always trust your instincts. Safety First.
In this day and age you need to be prepared for anything... my daughter was in a park and got stabbed four times while she was pregnant! Both survived after several surgeries. I don't mean to scare you but I still think you should be careful.

Oh, wow, I'm so sorry about your daughter's experience, but glad she and her baby survived. What a traumatic ordeal.

I agree, I couldn't tell if these people just enjoyed pushing me around, plus I live in an area where robbery is not common, but robbery was on my mind, so I immediately drove off.

I'm leaning toward getting a takeout coffee and parking for my peaceful nature fix somewhere else. I don't feel relaxed now about going back there. My "rights" come second to my safety.

88AViva

Sometimes we go against how we feel or against our instincts just to make other people feel comfortable or not to offend them... I realized now that is silly and if someone makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, it is okay to remove yourself and move far away. Even if they are harmless or had no ill will, it's better to be safe than sorry. I learnt that the hard way.
Trust your gut. Take care of yourself.

Dianedoessmiles1

I watched an Oprah show eons ago. In the audience she had asked people about trusting their instincts. MANY said they said they had a 6th sense something wasn't right, but they ignored it. They paid for it. So yes, by all means trust yours. It may be over heightened, but it may NOT be too. I'd easily put my safety as you are, over my joy. Hopefully you can find another spot. It's such a CRAZY time we live in. Safety first always.

Hiawassee88

Change your routine. Often.

There are cons, literally, when you live in a remote area or rural area. We've had a number of serial killers hiding in our state. One man has killed so many women and they still haven't put all of the pieces together. He's been tried for only one. Guess where he took his victims from. Rest areas with empty parking lots. He would wait/hide inside and take them. He is an animal. Then he would drive off with them in their own vehicles.

I never stop at a rest area when I'm alone. It's so worth it to make it back home safe and sound. I don't even stop at rest areas with my sisters.

Two women went into that particular rest area and immediately the lights went out. He was on the loose for 16 years before he was caught. There was no one around but they knew to run for their car. He lived just a mile from the rest area and would hang out in there, waiting for prey. Move on from that place.

My mother's truck vapor-locked on the road right by his house. It was August and she'd bought some watered-down gas from a quick stop. Truck died and she sat there for over an hour by his house. She was going to walk over and ask for help but sat there. Eventually, truck started and she made it home. Trust your gut.
Always.

Hollis300

@Hiawassee88 @Dianedoessmiles1 @88AViva Thanks for the stories and the advice. I appreciate it. Hiawassee88 your story gave me the chills.

I thought of a third explanation, that those people could have just been insensitive, not value personal space the way I value it, plus they might have parked by the grass for the dog -- and then decided no. They ignored lots of other parking spaces by the grass, plus the whole thing was too odd, to park next to a stranger when the rest of the lot was almost deserted.

I will admit I'm attached to the birds that come. I recognize them -- the same mockingbird, and a crow with ragged feathers. But those birds have survived and thrived long before I showed up.

I've decided I'll sit in line at a McDonald's on the other side of town and take my coffee to another nature area. I live next to a national park where there are many other scenic spots. I feel too uncomfortable to go back there. What if those people were watching me all along?

Hiawassee88

@Hollis300 My entire family tries to shake that off but we can't. He had a backhoe and he buried one of his victim's car in a deep hole in the middle of the night. That case remained cold and the car hidden for 14 years. He held her for 6 days in his house and then he killed her. Don't go back there. Out of respect for her and others, I won't write his name.

"The Great Basin Murders are a loose grouping of homicides spanning the 1970s to 1990s in which the remains of murdered women were found in remote areas of Nevada, Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming. Most of the cases are still unsolved today. " Apr 14, 2021

It doesn't make any difference what they were doing or up to. It's a heads UP that there's a better place to hang out. Change your routines, especially if you're a runner.

88AViva

Hollis300 wrote: »

I thought of a third explanation, that those people could have just been insensitive, not value personal space the way I value it, plus they might have parked by the grass for the dog -- and then decided no. They ignored lots of other parking spaces by the grass, plus the whole thing was too odd, to park next to a stranger when the rest of the lot was almost deserted.

I too dismissed it at first as just two guys messing around, just trying to scare me (especially when one of them started laughing when I started walking faster), or maybe they were going to rob me because I was carrying a gym bag and a laptop bag. It's funny how we always think we are over reacting.

I thought it wasn't far away from where I needed to go and it was only 8pm. And it has always been a safe place, I parked there so often. Nothing will happen. And I don't consider myself as someone who scares easy.

But when someone is crazy enough to follow me from the elevator all the way to basement parking, chase me and wait around when I was hiding, it stops being all in my head anymore. When I got away, I didn't even bother looking around for my car, just took whichever exit was closest, up the stairs out of the building and took a cab home.

I had the initial instinct of not getting in the elevator, but felt it was rude of me to judge them based on 'just an uncomfortable feeling' when they were nice enough to wait and hold the door open for me when I was several steps away. I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. One of them looked familiar to me, I assumed just someone who probably worked in the building. And I thought I was just being paranoid. When I got in, I noticed they had pressed the B1 button, and my car was in Basement 2 parking (B2). I only started worrying when they didn't move to leave at all when the doors opened at B1.

ReenieHJ

Wow, your posts are giving me the creeps.

OP, you did the wise and safe thing by moving away from them, because well, you never know.

We live in a small town, where nothing happens. Usually. One year, a dear sweet teacher went to the aid of someone she 'knew' who had done work for her before. He called, saying his car was broken down and would she come help. While she couldn't figure out why he'd call her, she also had a heart of gold and did anything for everybody, never ever doubting their intent. She was tazered, killed, stripped and dumped into the river. They found out where she was so quickly, due to the fact she'd left a note at home saying she'd gotten a weird phone call from him and where she was meeting him. So always trust your feelings of uneasiness.

I walk alone a lot, in some pretty secluded areas. DH required that I get some bear spray to carry. I felt kind of silly carrying it but will always have it with me now, especially after hearing some of these stories.

88AViva

This was when I was living in NZ. 'Stun guns and irritant sprays such as mace, which are used for self defence in some countries, have been banned in New Zealand since 1984.'

You wouldn't think there would be that many crazies out there. But I guess there are weirdos even in the safest places.

PaperDoll_

@MelG7777 because you need to read this thread 😠😘

CrunchityFrog

There's a book y'all might find interesting called The Gift of Fear. I can't remember who wrote it. But it's all about the gut feeling y'all are talking about. I read it eons ago. It's still relevant today.

MelG7777

PaperDoll_ wrote: »

@MelG7777 because you need to read this thread 😠😘

Yeah, sad. Good reminders. I’m not one of those “that stuff doesn’t happen around here” people. Unfortunately it does all the time. Not my immediate area but parts of the city.

Glad everyone is ok.

Hollis300

@Hiawassee88 What a terrifying story. Your mother is incredibly fortunate she stayed in her car and never locked on the man's door.

@88AViva What an ordeal. You are very lucky and also correct about how we override our instincts because we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or seem out of line.

Here's a true story. A few times in my life my own voice has spoken to me out of the blue and warned me about danger (which didn't happen this time) - and I've mostly ignored it because it didn't make sense.

Many, many years ago, when I was seventeen, I walked to a local store. On the way back home, I walked down a short stretch of gravel road shoulder along a highway before the road to our house. My own voice suddenly spoke in my head and said, "Walk in the grass." That made absolutely no sense, so I ignored it.

Then my voice said again, "Walk in the grass! Walk in the grass!" Confused, I looked around for some grass -- the only grass was some weeds off the steep road shoulder down in a ditch. So I climbed down the embankment, but in a few minutes I felt humiliated to be walking in the weeds. It seemed like such a crazy thing to be doing. So I climbed back up the embankment and kept walking down the highway.

In a few minutes, an old red car drove by and slowed down. The driver, a balding man in his forties, began calling to me from the window. When I ran across the highway and reached the road to my house, he turned and followed me, still calling from the window. I had to run across some lawns and up next to the houses to get away from him.

If I stayed in the ditch, continued to walk in the grass and weeds, the steep embankment would have hidden me from sight. The man never would have seen me. I've always thought that voice, while it was my own voice, had to be a guardian spirit looking out for me.

Stay safe, everybody. Thanks again for the stories and advice to listen to our instincts. You're right.

Hiawassee88

This place is nothing but a clearinghouse for tourists from all over the world and convicts on the run. It's not one bit funny but a few years ago, two Arizona escapees, convicted murderers, holed up in a small town and the community invited them to church and did all kinds of sweet things for them. It was a total cluster. Another hole-in-the-wall experience. Mayberry RFD/BFD. Don't pick up hitchhikers and don't bring them home. Oy vey.

canadjineh

Just as another point of view....although I totally agree with trusting your 'spidey senses,' the couple with the dog may have thought you chose a nice place to enjoy your coffee and wanted to see what you saw in the spot. Also, I remember my parents telling me that staying in a secluded area alone isn't the safest choice, and to find a spot near other people (they were mainly talking about camping) as I could get help from them if it was needed. Maybe this couple felt the same way especially if they were unfamiliar with the area.
Just so you know, I'm not totally naive. I was a security guard (city patrol overnight shift) and alarm response for many years until I switched jobs a year and a half ago so I've seen my share of sketchy situations.

Hollis300

canadjineh wrote: »

Just as another point of view....although I totally agree with trusting your 'spidey senses,' the couple with the dog may have thought you chose a nice place to enjoy your coffee and wanted to see what you saw in the spot. Also, I remember my parents telling me that staying in a secluded area alone isn't the safest choice, and to find a spot near other people (they were mainly talking about camping) as I could get help from them if it was needed. Maybe this couple felt the same way especially if they were unfamiliar with the area.
Just so you know, I'm not totally naive. I was a security guard (city patrol overnight shift) and alarm response for many years until I switched jobs a year and a half ago so I've seen my share of sketchy situations.

I don't know why that couple parked right next to me in a mostly-deserted parking lot. Your point of view carried some weight with me. I live in a largely crime-free, historical tourist area, although of course there is some crime once in a while, usually redneck vs redneck.

I tend to think that couple was probably just stupid, insensitive, wanted to park by the grass on the very end for their dog, and might have thought my car was empty until they parked -- although I don't know. I'm originally from a large city and wary of getting robbed, so I left. Plus I wanted some peace, not to sit there with two hillbillies.

Update: I've gone back at different times, earlier and later in the day. I'm parking in a different spot where I can't be hemmed in. So far, so good. I want to be careful, but I also don't want other people chasing me away from doing something I enjoy.