The early Saturday Palo Alto kidnapping and sexual assault case involved violence, police announced Monday as they continued seeking witnesses and released a description of the suspect.
Palo Alto and Santa Clara police are seeking a man who climbed into a woman's SUV as she was stopped in the 1600 block of El Camino Real in Palo Alto early Saturday morning, forced her to drive to Santa Clara and sexually assaulted her, police reported earlier.
The assailant was described as thin, approximately 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet tall, and in his late 20s to early 30s.
Police are seeking anyone who may have seen the woman's 2001 black Mercedes SUV parked on El Camino or on Saratoga Avenue.
The suspect entered the woman's vehicle about 1:30 a.m. in the 1600 block of El Camino Real in Palo Alto and sexually assaulted her after forcing her to drive to the 400 block of Saratoga Avenue in Santa Clara, according to Palo Alto police Agent Kara Salazar.
The woman flagged down a passing motorist and called Santa Clara police at 5:24 a.m., police said.
Santa Clara police handled the initial investigation, and the case was transferred to the Palo Alto Police Department.
The victim could not provide a suspect description, but police are asking anyone who saw her vehicle parked on El Camino Real or Saratoga Avenue Saturday morning to call Palo Alto police.
Anyone with information about the incident can call the department at 650-329-2413 or leave an anonymous message at 650-383-8984. An anonymous text or e-mail can also be sent to paloalto@tipnow.org.