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PROVO — Provo police released a sketch of a person of interest in connection with an attack and sexual assault of a 20-year-old woman on the Provo River Trail Monday night.
He's described as having an olive skin tone, about 5-feet 11-inches tall, in his mid-20s, and having a boxer-type athletic build. He wore black shoes, black sweatpants and a black, hooded sweatshirt with the drawstring pulled tight, covering most of his face.
The woman was jogging along the stretch of trail near 900 West and 800 North in Provo by herself around 9 p.m. when someone grabbed her, took her off the trail into the woods at knifepoint and raped her. The man also cut her several places in the face, arms and body area.
"This guy had been there for some time, making sure the area was safe, picking out the spot he wanted to be in," said Provo Police Sgt. Matt Siufanua.
Doctors found her knife wounds to be superficial. She is now recovering at home, but is understandably dealing with a very traumatic event.
Another runner saw this man in the area just before the attack. She told police he just didn't seem right. "She remembers a lot of details of an individual that was on the trail, in the same location, about 30 to 40 minutes before the incident,” Siufanua said.
Anyone who things they might recognize the man is asked to call Detective Taylor at 801-852-7328.
The trail is one of the more popular trails in Provo, but no matter how popular it is, Karissa Dolan won’t run here without her friend, not even during the day.
“It’s dangerous, and I think people think it’s safe here and predators know that,” she said.
Police say they don't want to scare anybody and try to keep them from going outside and enjoying a run; but at the same time, police do want people to know there are things they can do to try to keep themselves safer.
"We want to get the message out to girls and guys, when you run on the trail, make sure you run in doubles, have a safety net, maybe a cellphone on you,” Siufanua said.
For Dolan, she follows that advice and even goes a bit further just to be safe. “I have my running buddy,” she said, “but I also have pepper spray and a whistle.”
Police say there have been other attacks on this trail in the past few years. In June 2010, a Utah Valley University student was raped, beaten and left for dead by Shawn Michael Leonard, who was in jail but out for a work release program. Leonard was sentenced to life in prison without parole, but many still expressed concerns about the riverside trail that is heavily forested in areas.
Police have added extra patrols in the area. They also placed cameras on the trail to document foot traffic coming and going. Officers worked with the city Parks and Recreation department to clear the underbrush along the trail. Field interviews have also been conducted on suspicious persons in the area, in an effort to document their presence.
Written by Alex Cabrero with contributions from Sam Penrod and Viviane Vo-Duc.
