LITTLE COTTONWOOD CANYON, Utah, April 30, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Unified police are searching for a suspect after a young woman was allegedly attacked while hiking in Little Cottonwood Canyon early Wednesday morning.
Unified Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Melody Gray told Gephardt Daily the woman was hiking up the Temple Quarry Trail at approximately 6:30 a.m.
Gray said the woman was about two miles up the trail heard someone coming up behind her and assumed it was a jogger so she moved to the side.
The woman told police the person she thought was a jogger, a man, then came up behind her and hit her with a stick in the back of the head, knocking her to the ground. He then jumped on top of her and attempted to sexually assault her, she told officials.
The woman was screaming, which alerted other hikers in the area, who went to assist her. The suspect then ran off into the woods, Gray said.
The victim did not need to be transported to hospital.
The suspect is described as a Caucasian man in his late teens to early 20s, about 6 feet tall and very thin, with long brown hair.
Anyone who has any information about the suspect is asked to call Unified Police Department on 801-743-7000.
