Date: Friday, August 7, 2020

File: 20-31290

Victoria, BC – Patrol officers are looking for witnesses and asking you if you recognize the suspect in a random assault in Burnside Gorge’s Cecila Ravine yesterday.

Shortly before 2 p.m. yesterday afternoon, Patrol officers were dispatched for a report that a 64-year-old woman was assaulted while taking a photograph of a dog.

The victim reported to officers that that she was working in the gardens at the community centre when she spotted a black Labrador sitting alone by the ravine. Concerned for the dog’s safety and wondering if it was lost, she approached the dog and used her phone to capture images of it. While the woman was taking photographs, she was suddenly assaulted from behind by a man. She reported that the man pushed her to the ground and then took her phone and threw it into the ravine. The victim sought safety in the nearby community centre and called police. She received non-life-threatening injuries in the incident, but declined medical attention. The man left the area accompanied by a woman and the dog.

The suspect is described as Caucasian man in his early twenties, standing five feet, six inches tall, with a slim build. He was wearing a football jersey with the number 44 on the back, and a baseball hat and shorts. He was accompanied by woman described as riding an orange bicycle, with pink hair and a crop top. The victim reported that the man and woman moved to a nearby tent, which they quickly packed up before fleeing the area prior to police arrival.

A Patrol officer helped the victim search for her phone in the ravine. Unfortunately, the phone was discovered damaged beyond repair.

If you recognize this suspect, or have information about this incident, please call our non-emergency line at (250) 995-7654 ext 1. To report what you know anonymously, please call Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

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