MIDLOTHIAN, Va. -- More women from Central Virginia are coming forward with similar stories after a woman shared her harrowing ordeal of being followed while she was grocery shopping in Henrico County on Monday, Oct. 1.
When Kelly McCauley watched the story about Tonya Fowler,who said a man creepily followed her around a Henrico Food Lion, she immediately thought of a similar experience she had Wednesday at a Kroger on Midlothian Turnpike.
"Thank you for writing the story -- I kept seeing the same man in every aisle I was going into," McCauley said.
She said the man, who appeared to be in his late 50s, ended up right next to her in the self checkout line with just one item.
"Which I thought was odd, so I slowly checked my items out because I wanted him to leave before I left, which he did," McCauley said.
McCauley said she did not tell store management or police, but she now wishes she did.
Kelly McCauley
"If it happens again, yes, I will definitely do it. I will definitely pull out my phone and take a picture of him," McCauley said.
Since airing our original story we’ve received countless reports from women all over Central Virginia who say a man or men followed them while shopping.
Like McCauley, none of them reported the incidents to police, with many telling us that since nothing ended up happening they felt they might just be paranoid.
"Not to make light of it, but I thought, 'Am I watching too many crime shows where you see weird things happen?'" McCauley wondered.
Lt. Lauren Hummel with the Henrico County Police Department.
"We really, really need people to pick up the phone and call us," Lt. Lauren Hummel with the Henrico County Police Department said.
Hummel said they have not received any reports of that nature, so police have not been able to investigate the claims yet.
"I was surprised that we didn't have any calls for service about these," Hummel said.
She said people should trust their gut and wants anyone in a similar situation to immediately tell a store manager and call police.
"We want to be able to help and get to the bottom of any weird behavior -- anything that makes you uncomfortable, but we need to know about it first," Hummel said.
We’ve asked Hanover, Richmond, and Chesterfield if they’ve received any similar reports, and they’re looking into it for us.
Have you experienced a similar situation? Tell us about it here.
