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PROVO — Police say they're relentlessly searching for the man who attacked a jogger on the Provo River Trail two weeks ago. Meanwhile, a Facebook-organized group is planning events on the trail to send the message: they won't be victims.
Safety was top of mind for members of Take Back the Night Utah Valley, as they met at the Orem City Library Wednesday night. They were planning a candlelight vigil and 5K run to raise awareness of sexual assault.
"If everyone in the community reached out and did something, even little things, to make Provo safer, the effect would be phenomenal," said Christa Baxter Drake, the group's organizer.
Drake created a group on Facebook called Take Back the Night Utah Valley after an attack on the Provo River trail.
On Feb. 6 at 9 p.m., a woman was jogging along the stretch of the parkway alone. Someone grabbed her, took her off into the woods at knife point and raped her.
For many, that assault brings back memories of another brutal attack near the same trail in June 2010. A woman was walking alone when Shawn Leonard grabbed her, beat and raped her, and then left her for dead. Leonard is now serving a life sentence.
Wednesday, police posted fliers along the trail with safety reminders they can't stress enough.
"We'd see people on that trail all night long; and they'd have their earphones in, they'd be running all along in the dark of night," said Provo Police Sgt. Matthew Siufanua.
Also on the fliers: a sketch of a person of interest in the recent attack.
"We do need to look out for this person and catch him, because at any moment of time he could do it again," said LaKesha Taylor, who lives across the street from the trail.
Taylor thinks she saw the man a few days before the assault. She told police about it and gave them a description.
"He had his hood over his head, and he had his hands in his pockets. He didn't look at me once, but he could tell I was staring at him," Taylor recalled.
She hopes the man is caught, as do the members of Take Back the Night Utah Valley. They want to feel safe again.
"Everyone in Provo deserves to feel safe at night," Drake said.
