A woman was beaten and sexually assaulted while jogging in the community of Colwood on Vancouver Island Sunday night.
At approximately 10:40 p.m., police were notified about a stranger who, they say, had beaten and sexually assaulted the 32-year-old victim while she was out jogging on the Galloping Goose trail near Pickford Road in Colwood.
Police responded, but could not find the suspect.
The woman was treated at the scene and was taken to hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
The investigation remains in its early stages and police are still working on gathering evidence and determining the course of events.
The Galloping Goose trail winds from downtown Victoria, branching off into the Saanich Peninsula as well as the western communities.
It’s well-used as both a commuter route and for pleasure, but Sunday’s incident is not the first time someone got attacked on the trail.
In August 2013, a 49-year-old woman was walking to her job as a cleaner around 5 p.m. on the trail when three young men approached her and one of them suddenly punched her in the nose. At the time, police said the attack was unprovoked.
WATCH (Aug. 15, 2013): A Vancouver island woman was walking to work along the Galloping Goose trail when she was attacked
Then in June 2014, a woman in her 20s was grabbed by an uknown man and sexually assaulted while walking alone on the trail at 2 a.m. She tried to fight the man off, but couldn’t, and was dragged 100 metres down the trail where she was sexually assaulted. Twenty-year-old Bradley Michael Muscat was eventually arrested, charged and sentenced to eight years in prison in connection with the assault.
Police are reminding trail users to be aware of their surroundings, especially if out of the public’s view, and to report any incidents right away.
Any witnesses are asked to contact the West Shore RCMP or Crime Stoppers.
-with files from Kylie Stanton