Suspicious looking character seen saturday night

[Cloud]

Picture the scene - Me and two friends walking through Kinburn Park at about 6.40 or so on saturday night, a quick glance to the side of the path finds us looking upon the silhouette of a man standing amongst the reasonably dense trees watching the path. Would you have been scared? We bloody were! As was the girl behind us. At the time of us seeing this man - who we assumed was watching us, he may have been looking the other way - this girl was about 20 yards or so behind us, well she must have saw him too because within about 20 seconds of her passing where he was hidden amongst the trees, she was walking almost on top of us.

Of course us being the immature easily amused young men that we are there was much laughing and joking about a shady local hiding in the trees looking for some solitary sheep to walk past by so he could drag it into the bushes for a right good buggering.

So, with this incident in mind, imagine our shock and horror to recieve an email alerting the students of St Andrews university about a series of indecent attacks made over the weekend!

Did I and my friends see the man who may be responsible?

Are we over-reacting?

Was he just getting in out of the rain?

Was he looking over the wall down the hill at two homeless guys fighting over a sandwich?

And most importantly, is this sighting of any importance to the current investigation by Fife Police?




Cloud

[Rrrr]

You should probably tell Val Craig (the liason officer) when she comes by your hall, or let her know, cos things like that are useful (if you did see the bad man) for them to trace where/when he was, which can lead to who he is.

[Al]

You probably should tell the police, but, there again, what could you tell them? That you saw a man but can't describe him? He could well be the attacker you mention, but he could equally be a harmless nutter. Someone who likes to get up close and personal with trees. In the rain. Perhaps he watched "Meetings with Remarkable Trees" once too often and it sent him over the edge.

[hr]"Oh sing sing sing
For the dying of the day
Sing for the flames that will rip through here
And the smoke that will carry us away"

[The_Farwall]

I'd agree with Rrrr. If you have any kind of description of the guy you saw it'll be emminently useful to the police. Even if you don't, just the fact that you have a location might be a help to them.
Did the sillouette match the description given out, hoodie, baggy trousers etc? To quote the note that came through our door today "The Police are appealing to anyone who saw a male fitting this description in the town centre area on Saturday night or the early hours of Sunday morning to get in touch as a matter of urgency"
Get on with it, basically. Let the Police decide whether it's useful or not.

[hr][s]"Oh yeah, I'm a masterpiece of self destruction"[/s]

[Al]

Before people write in accusing me of not taking indecent assaults seriously, can I just point out that I do.

Cloud never mentioned that a description of the man had been circulated and, even in silhouette, it should be possible to make out the clothes he was wearing. So, Cloud, yes you should tell the police if the description appears to match the man you saw. I would just advise against jumping to conclusions...

[hr]"Oh sing sing sing
For the dying of the day
Sing for the flames that will rip through here
And the smoke that will carry us away"

[Colin]

[s]Al wrote on 00:05, 21st Jan 2003:
...a description of the man had been circulated ...

An e-mail went out to all students (and possibly staff - cant remember) earlier today. If anyone still has it saved it might be an idea to post it here. Just to inform the discussion in general.

[TheGamesMaster]

Edited to remove the e-mail and post link to article on it:

http://www.thesinner.co.uk/article-view.php?article=372

[Rrrr]

it's not up to us to decide if we've jumped to a conclusion, it's for the police. If they ignore the information, or deem it unneccesary, that's up to them, but i think it's important that people report anything related, even if they're "kinda not sure"

[Colin]

[s]Rrrr wrote on 00:22, 21st Jan 2003:
it's not up to us to decide if we've jumped to a conclusion, it's for the police. If they ignore the information, or deem it unneccesary, that's up to them, but i think it's important that people report anything related, even if they're "kinda not sure"


I agree - and I think the Sinner publicising the appeal for information is a good idea. I am sure a lot of people must read this board - especially as it is exam season - and may have seen something suspicious.

[RichZ]

Here here, tell them ALL you know AT ONCE!!! Ummm, I think the message has been sent to Cloud, and most probablly understood!

It just goes to show that not evrybody in the St. Andrews bubble is nice. I myself have experienced non-niceness with some mates when we were on our way back to our lovely abode in Fife Park when we heard two guys on/near the drive upto the observatory. Being in good spirts we called "Happy New Year" to them. Thinking we were being nice and all, and then they came up to us and mouthing off to us! Like "Why you shouting at us!?!" Well it was quite obvious really - we were just wishing them a happy new year - miserable sods! They really ruined the night/morning for me at that point!

Some people are just so mean!

But alas a few hours of drinking games later we didn't care, so all was not lost!

Oh, and Colin - why should more people be reading/using the sinner at exam times emmmm? Are you implying that we waste precous time on here (no offence meant) rarther than work! Well let me tell you something! - You're completelly right! Anything but revise - I've been playing GTA3 for last few hours, and it's now 04:00 in the morning! - what a silly boy I am!

Again, as usual - sorry for the ranting!

[Concerned]

<<>>

I know this isnt quite on topic from the original post. I have a dear friend at St.Andrews who was robbed about 2 weeks ago near the peir and badly beaten. I am out of the country and have been unable to get in contact with anyone knowing his current condition and am very concerned. I rather not give his name here to respect his privacy but last information I am aware of is he was in the hospital and was to have surgery due to his injuries. If anyone knows who I speak of and has information on his condition please reply. I greatly appreciate it. Thank You.

[Prophet Tenebrae]

I hardly think that an article on the Sinner is going to get more coverage than an e-mail to everyone in the university...

[Guest]

not heard anything about that assault at all. im pretty sure it would have made the news as well, so maybe you're confused on the university it happened at. sorry if i sound patronisingm, and if anyone else knows about this assault can they say something on here , because it's the first time i've heard about it

also, on the subject of the two girls getting attacked. rumour has it that one of them got her bum pinched on the street. while this is unpleasent and scary for the girl in question , especially if she was on her own it seems that the police are making much more of a deal out of this than the supposed assault that happened near the piera couple of weeks ago.

another fact about the assaults that interested me, does anyone think that the 2 girls were actually together when it happened?i know it doesn't say it in the police memo but who knows . anyway, ifyou know anything tell Val Craig when she comes round to your hall of residence

alex

[Guest]

thats true, but its useful that the information is put out in as many places as possible as not everyone checks their uni accounts. I was the victim of one of the sexual assaults on Saturday night (the 20 year old female).
Anyone reading this who knows me will already know who it is writing this, and they'll also know that I'm stressed out about it and FUCKING ANGRY!
Please can anyone who saw ANYTHING suspicious on Saturday night contact the police as soon as possible, because I can't stress how important it is to me that they catch the bastard.

[James Baster]

[s]Unregisted User wrote on 13:42, 21st Jan 2003:
also, on the subject of the two girls getting attacked. rumour has it that one of them got her bum pinched on the street. while this is unpleasent and scary for the girl in question , especially if she was on her own it seems that the police are making much more of a deal out of this than the supposed assault that happened near the piera couple of weeks ago.

No, I know one of the girls and this was far more than that.

And I to didn't hear anything about the pier - does anyone know if that is right?

another fact about the assaults that interested me, does anyone think that the 2 girls were actually together when it happened?

I dont. Why do you?

[hr]
[s]Some reporters came to visit, and asked [the 19th century US public speaker and political figure Robert G. Ingersoll] about the rumours that his son had gotten drunk during a wild party and fell unconscious under the table. Ingersoll paused for effect, then started: "Well, first of all, he didn't fall under the table. And he wasn't actually unconscious. For that matter, he didn't fall. And there wasn't any party, and he didn't have anything to drink.... And, by the way, I don't have a son."
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/ ... 27721.html [/s]

[concerned]

<<<>>>

No, I am not confused he is a math student in his second year at St.Andrews and is a very private person. That is why I have not given his name. As far as I know only I and possibly one other person outside of St.Andrews knew the details about what happened at the peir. No one has heard from him sense the morning of his surgery when he was allowed to return to get some personal items from his room. I was able to speak with him for a short time then but we lost contact before I was able to get the name of the hosptial he would be at. I was hoping by some slim chance someone living in the same hall or in the same classes as him would recognized this situation and have an update on his condition and possibly information on the hospital he is in. I am in a bit of a panic here cause it has been over a week sense anyone has heard from him. If someone does have information or think they may but does not want to post here feel free to email me privatly at kissingmoons@hotmail.com

Thank you very much

[Emma]

[s]Prophet Tenebrae wrote on 13:25, 21st Jan 2003:
I hardly think that an article on the Sinner is going to get more coverage than an e-mail to everyone in the university...


Judging from the occasional post by a 'Mad-Ass' (aka Madras) College kid, non-student residents of St Andrews also read these boards. They're unlikely to have gotten an email from Alastair Work, but they may have useful information for the police.

[hr]
'I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism' - Dr Martin Luther King Jr

[Miss Maryland]

I have a similar story to Cloud's, except it was from this summer. My friends and I were running around in the fog on the beach- you all know how it gets so foggy that you can't see much farther than a meter away. Anyway, we were having a grand old time (the wonder is, we were doing it while completely sober) running around and chasing each other. Someone was fooling around with a lighter, and then we saw a light off in the distance. It kept coming closer, and the guys decided to go "check it out." These were 17 and 18 year-olds, mind you, and they were basically playing "spy." They snuck around the bluffs and then returned to "report" that a middle aged man in a trenchcoat was following us by the lighter and from our voices. This one girl was freaking out, afraid that he might be a "serial rapist." We were on our way back, walking by Hamilton Hall, when someone spotted him following us again. Then one of our guys ran after him and chased him away.

At the time, the event was quite crazy, but after hearing about what is going on in town at the moment, I'm glad that I wasn't alone that night.

[cheimon]

the whole thing with Val Craig is very frustrating. So she's supposed to come to your dorm between 6 and 9 either last night or tonight. Are we just supposed to wait around in the commons room until she does? I have some information which may or may not be helpful, but I also have exams. Will she come to your rooms? Or is there some other way I could get in touch with her? I mean, I suppose I can just go to the police station and ask.

[skyetom]

valerie.craig@fife.pnn.police.uk
vc3@st-andrews.ac.uk

tel:01334 418900/418973