A passerby on Hanover Street at the time of the attempted abduction saw a mid-sized black SUV leave the area with a driver matching the description of the suspect, police said. The vehicle had a side-mounted rear light assembly with black vinyl taillight decals similar to the one shown here, police said.

Parts of campus closed down after reported assault this morning.

Date published: 7/10/2008

Police are still looking for a man they say attacked a female runner near the University of Mary Washington track this morning.

Natatia Bledsoe of the Fredericksburg Police Department said the woman, who is in her 20s and is not a UMW student, was running on the trail around the athletic fields on Hanover Street when a man with a gun grabbed her and pushed her into the bushes.

The attacker tried to tie the woman’s hands together and when she resisted, he dropped the gun, Bledsoe said.

She said the man got flustered and ran toward Alum Spring Park, where the search for him was focused most of today.

The man is considered armed and dangerous.

After news of the attack spread this morning, another woman came forward to report a similar incident, Bledsoe said.

That woman, a UMW student, said she was running down Hanover Street near the intersection of Sunken Road on July 1.

She said a man jumped out of the grass “in a manner that frightened her badly,” Bledsoe said.

The woman told police she was afraid the man would follow her, but she made it home safely, so she didn’t initially report the incident.

Bledsoe said the women’s descriptions of the men are very similar.

Neighbors along Hanover Street said today that they never considered the UMW track area to be an unsafe place to run.

“I was out there about 6:30 [this] morning,” said Shirley Eye, who lives on Hanover Street near the track. “I’ve always felt really safe and content that this is a nice place to be.”

Bill Long, who visits the playing fields frequently, said he is slightly shaken by the magnitude of crimes in Fredericksburg lately.

“I would have said it’s the safest place in the world to go and jog,” he said.

Most neighbors say that the track’s busiest time is in the evening after people get off work.

It also frequently is used during the school year for athletic camps.

“Sometimes I see girls out there at night running by themselves and I worry,” said Betsy Spradlin, another Hanover Street resident. “But I wouldn’t think you’d have to worry at 7:30 in the morning.”

Bledsoe said the attacker is described as white and in his late 20s, with very short brown hair and curls in the front.

He is 6 feet, 2 inches and 250 pounds and was last seen wearing black shorts and a white T–shirt.

Anyone who sees this man is asked to call 911 immediately. Anyone with general information about the incident is asked to call 540/373-3122.

Ellen Biltz: 540/374-5424 ebiltz@freelancestar.com

Read more stories about Fredericksburg
Date published: 7/10/2008

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