A masked man attacked a 29-year-old woman from behind as she walked to her car in Vista Wednesday night, but she fought back and got away, according to the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office. Now investigators are asking the public for help identifying the suspect, who fled the scene and remains unidentified.
The attack happened around 9:40 p.m. Wednesday in the 2100 block of East Vista Way, according to 10News. A 20-year-old man is suspected of sexually assaulting the woman before she fought back and escaped, the outlet reported. Sheriff’s detectives canvassed the block afterward to collect physical evidence and review nearby commercial surveillance footage, according to a San Diego County Sheriff’s Office release, which named Lieutenant Aloha B. Peters of the Sheriff’s Sexual Assault Unit as the primary contact for media seeking updates on the investigation.
The suspect was last seen wearing black clothing and a ski mask, and is described only as a man standing about 5 feet 2 inches tall and weighing around 130 pounds, the station’s report noted. Because he approached the woman from behind and kept his face covered, investigators are leaning heavily on that height and weight estimate, along with any surveillance video or vehicle sightings from the area, to narrow down a suspect.
How to Report a Tip
Authorities are urging anyone with information to call the Sheriff’s Sexual Assault Unit directly at 858-285-6112, per the same account. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477 or through sdcrimestoppers.org, which offers cash rewards of up to $1,000 for tips that lead to an arrest in felony sexual assault cases. For non-emergency calls after normal business hours, the Sheriff’s Office also routes the public to a 24/7 dispatch line at 858-868-3200…