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Police say a 27-year-old Mountain View woman jogging Stevens Creek Trail on Sunday afternoon fought off a sexual assault after she was attacked by a man who tried to pull her into some bushes off the path.
At approximately 1:25 p.m., the victim was jogging along the trail near the Dana Street overcrossing when a man grabbed her in a “bear hug” and attempted to carry her toward bushes near the creek, police said. The woman was able to scratch the man’s face, fighting until he dropped her.
Police spokesperson Liz Wylie said the woman jammed her fingers in his mouth and pulled on his jaw, “doing what she could with what she had.”
The attacker fled southbound along the trail on a green bicycle and is still at large. Police believe he may have suffered minor scratches.
The victim called 911 with a borrowed cell phone minutes after she was attacked. She suffered no injuries.
“We spent some time on the trail last night,” Wylie said Monday, adding that they checked out homeless encampments and have also reviewed known sex offenders on file with the city.
“No leads yet, but we’re working on it,” she said.
The woman described her assailant as a white man with dark skin, thinning hair and a full goatee. He was approximately 35 years old, of medium build and overweight. He wore a red sweatshirt.
Wylie said there is an average of one mugging or robbery on the trail per year, and one to two misdemeanor or sexual battery-type cases. An attempted sexual assault like this one, she said, is “extremely rare.”
“It’s definitely an isolated incident for us,” she said, “but people should be concerned. We want people to be really vigilant. We’re hoping that it doesn’t happen again but it certainly could.”
Wylie said police are working up a sketch of the attacker to be released sometime this week.
Police caution joggers to only use the trail during daylight hours, and to carry a cell phone with the police department’s seven-digit emergency number, 650-903-6922.
Anyone with information about this crime is encouraged to call the MVPD immediately at 650-903-6344. Callers may remain anonymous.
By Kelsey Mesher
I hope the cops can post a drawing of the suspect. There are a lot of regular trail visitors that may be able to help identify him.
Ohhhh the homeless again.
This is right next to an elementary school folks!
Pick them up – lock them up – throw away the key – done.
Good for her in fighting off this loser and sending his sorry fat a** scrambling back into the bushes.
This is so complete unnacceptable. I ride my bike through the Palo Alto Baylands and the Steven’s Creek Trail as often as possible … when the weather is good. It is a valuable and wonderful resource for the communities, but it is or can be isolated from view in certain areas with the brush. That is one of the things that makes is so nice, you can be in the middle of the city and feel you like are a thousand miles away … until you have to worry about something like this.
Already I have seen quite a lot of graffiti on some of the concrete places and some minor vandalism. I have also read about some attacks over the years.
Whoever did this I hope the can post a picture or artist sketch of him and put it in all the local papers and catch him very soon … and then make an example of him.
Then there is the future to think about. Many of these trails and out in the bay are isolated in sight and distance. Do we need video cameras or police call boxes to protect people?
It might be nice to have some webcams so the public can see what is out on the trails … it might get more people out, be fun to look at, and patrol the area just as effectively as having a cop ride a motorcycle through there several times and then forget all about it.
Good luck and much speed to the police and the victim in finding this attacker … but we need a solution so this does not happen again and we reduce the chances of someone else thinking about it.
The article says there is an average of one mugging per year on the trail, so it is still safer than almost anywhere else in Mountain View or Palo Alto. Pedestrians have a much bigger risk of being hit by a car when traveling to the trail than any risk on the trail itself.
Rather than being paranoid, trail users should help the police catch the suspect. Hopefully, they will release a sketch or more detailed description soon.
She should have chased after the dirt-bag. She probably would have caught him….
I was jogging the same trail but in Campbell about six years ago at about 3pm when a guy on a bike exposed himself just before an overpass. I called police and they seemed really callous about it. They said it happened there a few times before. The guy had a hat pulled almost over his eyes. Though I use to run there three days a week, I don’t anymore.
mommy – you are probably thinking of a different trail. The Stevens Creek Trail is entirely within the city of Mountain View.
Yeah that is what every woman ought to do when she gets free from a violent attacker, a potential rapest:
“chase after the dirtbag”… and do what when she catches him?
“Now you wait right here until the cops get arrive”.
To the woman who not only fought back, but cared enough about other women (and children) to actually report it: BRAVO! Thank you! Women who report public assaults are themselves frequently subjected to subtle psychological passive-aggressive treatment by a culture so accustomed to believing women deserve less in this world. Women need to stand up to police, friends, family, everyone, and demand equal protection under the law. Or, if we are not to receive equal protection under the law, our tax burden should be modified accordingly. If we aren’t protected, we shouldn’t pay for protection. If we didn’t pay for it, we would know it wasn’t there. The way it is, we think we are protected because we pay the same taxes as everyone else. But in reality, we’re as protected as illegal aliens, because that’s the status of women in america. We have rights only if we agree up front to be subordinate.