Police are looking for a suspect who assaulted a woman while jogging in a north Nanaimo park.
The incident happened at about 11:20 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9, when the victim was running on a trail in Linley Valley off Burma Road.
According to a Nanaimo RCMP news release, a black dog, possibly a standard poodle or similar breed, approached the woman and tripped her.
The woman called out to the dog’s owner, another runner. The man approached the woman and allegedly “violently pushed her to the ground,” the release noted. “She managed to snap a picture of him which appeared to enrage him more. The man then aggressively held her arms, which caused her to scream.”
At this point, the suspect broke off the attack and was last seen running along the trail with his dog.
The man is described as 30-40 years old, white, with a slim build, short blond or brown hair, and clean shaven. He was wearing a blue long-sleeved athletic shirt, dark shorts, ball cap and hydration pack.
“This is a concerning event in that this attack, by an athletic male on a female, appeared unprovoked,” said Const. Simon Gallimore, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, in the release. “Stranger-on-stranger assaults are rare and police would like to identify this suspect in order to safe-guard the public and further the investigation.”
Police ask anyone who can identify the suspect to contact Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 and quote file No. 2021-41924.
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