The King County Sheriff’s Office reported a Redmond woman was attacked Friday evening while walking her dog on the Marymoor Park Trail.
The 42-year-old woman was walking on the trail near the 5100 block of Lake Sammamish Parkway NE around 7 p.m. when the suspect jumped out of some bushes and grabbed her.
The suspect punched the woman multiple times and dragged her into the tall grass east of the trail. The woman fought the suspect and yelled as he continued to strike her. A man walking on the trail nearby heard her yelling and went to investigate. The suspect fled on foot into the bushes.
King County Sheriff’s Office Media Relations Officer Cindi West said that the goal of the attacker was likely rape, rather than theft.
The woman received serious injuries to her face and a dislocated elbow in the attack. She was taken to Overlake Hospital for treatment. Detectives credited the woman for aggressively fighting off the suspect.
The suspect is described as a white male in his mid-40s, approximately 5 feet, 10 inches and of medium build. He has blue eyes and possibly thinning hair, and was last seen wearing a green and brown sleeveless shirt and unknown color pants or cargo shorts. He had an unknown tattoo on one arm and his shoes were left at the scene of the crime. He was described as possibly homeless or transient.
“I can’t remember anything like this happening there as long as I’ve been here,” West said. “It’s shocking.”
She said it is all the more abnormal because the attack happened during daylight hours at a time when the park is usually full of people.
While West said that people don’t need to avoid the trail, she did note that the King County Sheriff’s Office is asking residents to take certain precautions, such as taking a friend along on walks and jogs, not wearing headphones, and remaining “aware of their surroundings.”
“We don’t want people to be fearful — just cautious,” she stressed.
King County Sheriff’s Office investigators are currently looking for the suspect. Anyone with any information about this crime is asked to call the King County Sheriff’s Office at 206-296-3311.
