The Ladysmith RCMP are seeking information after a woman was reportedly grabbed and briefly pulled into a wooded area on Remembrance Day.
Police say the “random stranger assault” occurred just after 8:30 p.m. at the railway tracks along Transfer Beach Boulevard, near Oyster Bay Drive.
Mounties say the woman was grabbed from behind and “dragged into a wooded area by an unknown man for a short moment before setting her free.”
“This victim did absolutely nothing wrong. She happened to be walking into that area,” Island District RCMP Cpl. Alex Berube told CHEK News Wednesday.
“An unknown man was in the area, whether or not he was waiting there for someone, it was just being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” added Cpl. Berube.
Word of the incident spread quickly among those visiting Transfer Beach on Wednesday.
“I definitely feel for her, for anybody who’s had a situation like that because it leaves them traumatized and uncertain,” Jennifer Lowes told CHEK News, as she walked her dog in Transfer Beach’s trails.
“If they can come out of the bushes, they can come out of anywhere kind of thing. So it has an impact, and it will definitely have reverberations around the community.”
The victim did not sustain physical injuries, but is being supported by victim services, according to RCMP.
Police dogs were deployed to the scene on the evening of Nov. 11, but were unable to locate the suspect.
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The suspect is described as a man who stands 5’9” with a slim build. He was wearing a black ski mask or balaclava at the time, as well as dark-coloured cargo pants and a dark top. He had dark-coloured eyes.
“We are asking anyone who was in the area of Transfer Beach / Oyster Bay Drive on the evening of Nov. 11 between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. […] to contact the Ladysmith RCMP, especially if they saw a person matching the description of the suspect, or anyone seen loitering in the area that evening,” said Const. Bryna Arrowsmith of the Ladysmith RCMP in a release Wednesday.
“We are also looking for anyone who may have dash cam footage in that time frame and area on the night of Nov. 11,” said Arrowsmith.
Adam Chan
