A man has been left wit mysterious injuries after he blacked out for 42 hours and woke up with a series of cuts and bruises.
Steve Kemp, a 43-year-old resident of Wymondham, Norfolk, is desperately seeking answers after a routine midday walk turned into a baffling ordeal lasting nearly two days.
On July 19, Mr Kemp set off from his home for a stroll through Kett’s Park. His final memory is of checking his phone at approximately 1.30pm.
He was not seen again until July 21, when Natalie Butler, director of the Norfolk Archaeological Trust, discovered him lying on the ground at Moot Hill — an ancient earthwork adjacent to the park widely regarded as one of Norfolk’s most enigmatic historical sites.
Mr Kemp was found in a section of land managed by the trust that is closed to the public.
He was covered in cuts and bruises, with no recollection of the preceding 42 hours.
Beyond the visible wounds to his back and legs, Mr Kemp’s arms bore what were described as “grip marks,” suggesting he may have been seized or dragged by another person.
Medical staff at the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital, where he spent several days recovering, also diagnosed him with an acute kidney injury.
A man has been left with injuries after a terrifying 42-hour blackout
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Ms Butler, who called the ambulance after finding him, later informed Mr Kemp that his personal belongings had been located some distance from where he lay.
She has declined to comment publicly on the incident.
The 999 service report proved equally troubling for Mr Kemp. “After getting home I read the report from the 999 service and it states that I had grip marks on my arm which would seem like I was dragged in the woods,” he said.
During one fleeting moment of awareness amid those lost hours, Mr Kemp recalls briefly regaining consciousness. “I woke up for maybe 60 seconds and I can remember seeing someone maybe 50 yards or so in front of me,” he said.
Police have been left scrambling for answers after the mysterious incident
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He described being completely unable to move. “It seems like my legs did not work and I was paralysed and thought to myself ‘where am I?’ as I do not recall this area, before falling unconscious again,” he said.
Mr Kemp noted that he would ordinarily stick to established footpaths during his walks. “Normally I would keep on the footpath area when going for a walk and it seems I was in middle of the woods,” he said.
He is convinced that an assault is the only plausible explanation for what happened to him.
Police interviewed Mr Kemp twice during his hospital stay and also spoke with Ms Butler.
Despite these efforts, a force spokeswoman confirmed that officers had been unable to determine what occurred and were left with “no viable lines of enquiry.”
Mr Kemp is now appealing for anyone who may have witnessed anything unusual in or around Kett’s Park and Moot Hill between 19 and 21 July to come forward.
The site where he was discovered carries a deep historical significance. The earthwork is at least a millennium old and may represent a Norman ringwork — a fortified structure possibly associated with the D’Albini family, medieval Norfolk nobles — or alternatively the remnants of an Iron Age settlement more than 2,000 years old.
The Norfolk Archaeological Trust has called it “one of the area’s most intriguing secrets.” It holds designations as a Scheduled Ancient Monument, a County Wildlife Site, and a Monument at Risk.