The most terrifying night in the woods story I've ever told

The Most Terrifying Night in the Woods Story I've Ever Told

On the night of October 17th, 2019, a 47-year-old woman named AA Quintal stepped out of her family's cabin in rural Michigan to take her dog for a walk and have a smoke. It was very late, about 1:30 in the morning. The cabin was very isolated, about a half mile away from any neighbors. Surrounded on all sides by forest, swamps, and wilderness, AA felt safer here than in the densely populated Detroit area, where she lived full-time, because, a few months earlier, she had been the victim of an unprovoked attack there.

While in Detroit, AA had been randomly attacked by a man who broke her nose and gave her a concussion before running off. The attacker was never caught, and this incident deeply affected her, causing severe mental and physical health decline. Adding to her distress, she had recently been laid off from her engineering job, leaving her unemployed and depressed.

AA's uncle offered her a chance to stay at the family cabin to fix it up for the winter, and she gladly accepted. The cabin had been in her family for 75 years, and she had fond childhood memories associated with it. For the past week, AA and her boyfriend had been cleaning and doing minor repairs. Two days before the incident, her boyfriend had to leave to tend to another property in the city, leaving AA alone with her dog, which she was fine with.

That night, after taking a pill to help her sleep, AA couldn't rest and decided to take her dog for a walk. Walking through the dark, winding roads, AA's dog suddenly stopped and growled into the darkness. AA shone her flashlight in the direction her dog was looking and saw the glowing eyes of a mountain lion. The animal turned and ran off, and AA quickly headed back to the cabin, texting her boyfriend about the encounter once she was inside.

Still feeling on edge, AA heard twigs snapping outside the living room window as if someone walked by. Nervously, she peeked through the window, but seeing nothing, she dismissed it. However, 20 minutes later, she heard the sound again and saw the silhouette of two men outside. In panic, she grabbed her gun and hid behind the couch, shouting that she was armed.

Her friend, whom she had called, wanted to call the police, but AA insisted on investigating first. With her gun and phone in hand, AA crept around the cabin, finding nothing. Just as she was about to tell her friend it was probably nothing, she saw the silhouettes of two men in the living room window again, both aiming guns at her. She fired her gun in panic, believing she hit one, and told her friend to call the police.

After the shooting ceased, AA heard footsteps upstairs. Instead of running, she decided to confront the intruder. The police arrived 30 minutes later and found the cabin riddled with bullet holes but no intruders or AA, only her terrified dog.

After an extensive search, no signs of AA or any attackers were found. Her shoes, phone, and gun were later discovered outside the cabin, but she remained missing until December 21, 2019, when her family drained a nearby pond and found her body. The autopsy revealed that she had not been shot or harmed by an attacker. Instead, a combination of hypothermia and a toxic mix of drugs in her system, including methamphetamine, Valium, and anti-anxiety medication, had led to her death.

The whole incident was a tragic result of AA's post-traumatic stress, substance abuse, and paranoia, leading her to believe she was under attack when she was not.

Keywords

• AA Quintal
• Cabin in rural Michigan
• Mountain lion
• Unprovoked attack
• Isolation
• Methamphetamine
• Paranoia
• Hypothermia
• Toxic mix of drugs

FAQ

Q: Who was AA Quintal? A: AA Quintal was a 47-year-old woman who lived in Detroit but was staying at her family's cabin in rural Michigan.

Q: Why was AA in the cabin alone? A: She was fixing up the cabin for the winter after being invited by her uncle. Her boyfriend left two days earlier to tend to another property.

Q: What triggered AA's paranoia? A: A combination of traumatic stress from a previous attack, substance abuse, and smoking methamphetamine on the night of the incident.

Q: What happened during the night of October 17, 2019? A: AA believed she saw intruders outside her cabin, leading her to a gunfight with her reflections in the windows due to methamphetamine-induced paranoia.

Q: How did AA Quintal die? A: She died from a combination of hypothermia and a toxic mix of drugs, including methamphetamine, Valium, and anti-anxiety medication.

Q: What did the police find at the cabin? A: They found bullet holes, AA's terrified dog, her shoes, phone on the roof, and her gun on the ground but no intruders.

Q: When and where was AA's body found? A: Her body was found on December 21, 2019, in a nearby pond, about 300 yards from the cabin.