Hermann Park Houston Sketchy Encounters

I live near Hermann Park. Which is objectively one of the nicer/ “safer” areas I’ve lived in here. However, I’ve had two unsettling encounters since I’ve started my walks in/ near the park. The first one was about a month or two ago near the time when the sun was setting. There were still a ton of people at the park and I was walking my dog. As I was walking near a more secluded part of the park, a man approached me and asked if I was alone. He then began to ask if he could be my friend. At that point I turned and sped walked away. Left me feeling uneasy, but as a woman this happens pretty often, so I just made it home safely and tried not to think about it.

Fast forward to yesterday morning, I was walking my dog near the park and it was dark (since the sun doesn’t rise until later). Which I would avoid doing if I could, however, I can’t. There are typically a few runners out and about. Towards the end of my walk I passed a man wearing a red jacket & red backpack. He was going in the opposite direction as me, but I was aware of him. I tried to keep as much distance between us as possible just out of caution. I noticed that he started to linger a bit, but I kept walking. Then I noticed that he started to walk in the same direction as me. He was a medium – far distance behind me. So I just kept walking and looking back every few seconds. I crossed the street but noticed that he was still following me. Somehow he managed to keep the same distance between us even when I sped up my pace. At this point he was cutting through the parking lot, which seemed to allow him to keep up the pace. I pretended to call someone while picking up the pace even more. When I finally saw a different guy walking his dog near my complex (I’ve seen him out walking a few times before so it brought me some comfort) I sprinted home. It’s important to note that my complex is still a good distance (when walking) from the park, so for him to switch directions and walk with me the whole way was was scary.

The men that I encountered in both of these situations had similar builds, seemed to be the same race/ ethnicity and seemed to have the same hair/ facial hair. I’m not 100% sure they were the same person but I felt like it was worth noting.

I just want to note that in theory, as a woman, I know that I should not be walking outside in the dark alone. However, that is not always realistic with time changes & work schedules & living situations. I go on these walks for the benefit of my dog (and myself but mostly him).

Have any of you experienced anything similar to this near this area?