Woman reports attack by stranger in south Ashland

osted: 10:50 AM February 09, 2012

An unidentified man snuck up behind a woman sitting on a bench in south Ashland late Wednesday and dragged her into the bushes where he tried to sexually assault her, police said.

The woman, who asked not to be identified, was able to struggle free from the man, who was described as white with a slightly dark complexion and in his mid-20s. The man pulled her into a thicket of bushes behind the bench and tried to remove the woman’s clothes, said Ashland police Detective Sgt. Tighe O’Meara.

The assault occurred at about 10:15 p.m. in the area where Clover Lane and Ashland Street intersect, about 100 yards east of exit 14 on Interstate 5, O’Meara said.

After the short struggle, the man ran through the property where the Best Western Windsor Inn sits and toward Sutton Place, a street behind the inn.

The woman described the man as about 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, with a heavy build, dark eyes, and a goatee, police said. The suspect was wearing a black hoodie, white T-shirt and a beanie hat with an emblem on it, and possibly a necklace during the attack, police said.

O’Meara said detectives recovered potential evidence from the scene, but are asking anyone with information to call the Ashland Police Department at 541-482-5211 or use the anonymous tip line at 541-552-2333.

“Stranger attacks are very rare in Ashland,” said O’Meara. “It just doesn’t happen very often. Of course, as with anything as serious as this, we’re going to pull all of our available resources to work on it.”

— Sam Wheeler