MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Anoka County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help after a 17-year-old girl was reportedly assaulted and robbed in Bunker Hills Park in Andover.
Sheriff’s deputies responded to the assault and robbery report at 5:12 p.m. on Tuesday.
The victim told police that she had been walking in the park since approximately 4 p.m. that afternoon when they separated and left in different directions. She was walking on a paved path near an overlook on County C Parkway checking her cell phone for text messages when she reported somebody running up behind her.
The victim said she wasn’t concerned as this park is popular with runners and assumed it was a jogger coming down the path. However, the suspect grabbed her forcibly and dragged her into the nearby woods, telling her not to scream or he would kill her.
Once in the woods, the suspect assaulted and robbed the victim and then ran off.
The suspect has been described as a white male in his early-30s, 6-feet-tall, slender build, dark hair and scruffy unshaven look, but not a full beard. He was also wearing light-colored cargo pants and a T-shirt. No vehicle was seen.
The Sheriff’s Office said there was no evidence of a sexual assault.
The victim was treated and released at a nearby hospital for injuries suffered during the assault.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division at 763-427-1212.
