A very strange thing happened in upper Manhattan last night

I live in upper Manhattan (Morningside Heights) and I was walking to my friend Sarah's apartment around 10PM (it's an 8 minute walk). I was walking down broadway and saw a woman standing by the Columbia University gates (the main gates on Broadway). I noticed her because it's freezing out lately and she had on a long sleeve shirt, no coat and seemed completely barefoot. I thought maybe she was walking to the hospital across the street (Columbia Presbyterian Hospital is literally right there) but she didn't seem to be walking towards anywhere. She was just standing by the gates, kind of huddled up. I thought she was probably homeless (though it's a upper middle class/very safe area, sometimes homeless people are in the neighborhood) so I ignored her. <br><br>Anyway, as I got closer, she said hi to me. She seemed pleasant enough but she was shivering violently. I asked her if she was okay and she said she was fine. I asked her if she needed to go to the hospital (which was literally across the street) and she said she didn't need to. She kept telling me she was fine and I figured she was either homeless or on drugs or something so I just told her to stay warm and walked on. <br><br>As I walked two more blocks down Broadway, I noticed her walking next to me on the left side. I thought that was strange but ignored her again. I walked another block and she was still next to me. At this point, I thought maybe she was following me but she seemed kind of clueless and I didn't feel like she was a threat but I was getting annoyed at this point. <br><br>I told her I didn't want to be rude but I thought she was following me and she said "I'm not following you" in kind of a harsh tone, as if I had accused her of something. So I said "then stop walking next to me". I have no idea what made me do it but something about her just seemed strange and I didn't want to be near her. She walked slowly across the street and I walked faster to get away. <br><br>I walked another two blocks to Sarah's apartment and she lives in a high rise with a doorman so I felt safe. <br><br>I told Sarah what happened and she thought it was weird. Then I got a text from a friend asking if I was okay because she saw a tweet from the local news saying a woman had walked into the Hudson River naked last night and the police were looking for her. <br><br>I googled and sure enough there were articles from local news stations saying that a woman had walked into the Hudson River (which is near where I saw her) around 9:30PM last night and they were looking for her. They didn't find a body or anything but they were still looking. I have no idea if it was this woman but it seemed like the timing and location fit. <br><br>I don't know what's going on. I feel bad for her and I can't stop thinking about her but I'm also glad I didn't hang out and try to help. It's possible she was on drugs or something and none of it made sense. But I don't ever usually run into weird people in my neighborhood and I never thought I'd see someone barefoot in 32 degree weather. I have no idea what was going on with her.