Police in Nanaimo are looking for a man who allegedly assaulted a runner in a Nanaimo park.
A woman was running on a trail in Linley Valley off Burma Road at around 11:20 a.m. Tuesday when a black dog approached and accidentally tripped her, according to police. They say after the woman called out to the owner of the dog, the man came back and violently pushed her to the ground.
Police say the woman was able to take a picture of the man. However, he then held her arms aggressively, causing her to scream.
The man was last seen running down the trail with his dog. RCMP say they would like to identify the suspect as incidents like these are not common.
“This is a concerning event in that this attack, by an athletic male on a female, appeared unprovoked,” said Cst. Simon Gallimore in a press release Wednesday. “Stranger on stranger assaults are rare and police would like to identify this suspect in order to safeguard the public and further the investigation.”
The man is described as 30 to 40-years-old with a slim build, short blond or brown hair and clean-shaven, according to police. He was last seen wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt, with dark shorts, a ball cap and a hydration pack.
Police are asking anyone who can identify the man to call Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 and quote file number 2021-41924.
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