A woman has been left afraid to go walking on her own after a man tried to make her get into his car in a Shepparton street on New Year’s Day.
The woman, whom the News has chosen not to identify, was walking her dog at 8.30am on January 1 when she was approached by the man, who repeatedly asked her to get into his car.
The Shepparton woman had walked her German shepherd Staffordshire bull terrier cross dog through Hanlon Park and was in Dainton St when she first noticed the man in a grey sedan driving in the street.
She could see the man looking out the car’s windows and thought he was searching for a house to pick someone up at.
However, when the woman walked out into St George’s Rd, the man also turned in the same direction and started following her.
She started walking faster, but said when her dog stopped for a toilet break, the man pulled up beside her and stared at her.
“I asked him, are you okay? Do you need directions?” she said.
“He said, where are you going?”
When the woman told him she was going to her house, she said the man replied, “get in, I’ll take you”.
He then repeatedly told her to get in the car, the woman said.
When she walked off, he followed her slowly for a while, but when she took her phone out, he took off.
Shortly after, however, the dark-skinned man with a beaded braid or dreadlock hanging at the front of his head, did a u-turn and came back towards her, but when he saw she was on the phone he kept driving.
“It was pretty scary,” the woman said.
“I had the dog with me and he didn’t care.
“He wasn’t aggressive. But he was persistent.
“What if he was out looking for young girls?
“It was New Year’s Day. If he kept saying get in the car to someone drunk, they might.”
The woman, who is aged in her 30s, said she was upset about the whole experience.
“I’m angry because I’m now scared,” the woman said.
“I’m angry because he made me feel uncomfortable and unsafe.
“Now I’m too scared to take my dog for a walk.
“The whole thing was yuck and creepy and uncomfortable.”
The woman reported the matter to police, who confirmed they had investigated the incident.
“Investigators have spoken to the driver and no offence has been found,” police said.
• If you have had anything similar happen to you in Shepparton recently, we would like to hear from you. Email journalist Monique Preston at editor@sheppnews.com.au