It’s been a month since a 45-year-old woman was left with significant upper body injuries after being attacked in her Oak Bay home and police are still hunting for the suspect.
The attack happened in the 2500-block of Esplanade near Willows Beach around 7:30 a.m. on April 25.
Investigators believe an unknown man entered her home while the woman was inside alone. At some point, he was confronted by the victim and a struggle ensued. Police say the woman was attacked in the upper body with an edged weapon, believed to be a machete, and the man fled the scene.
When police arrived at the home, they found the victim seriously hurt. The woman needed surgery following the attack and is still recovering from her injuries.
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After helping the woman, officers secured the area and began the search with a canine unit for the suspect, but to no avail.
The weapon has never been found and the police investigation is still ongoing.
Although police said they don’t believe the community is in danger and that these types of events are “extremely uncommon”, many people in the usually peaceful community are looking over their shoulders.
“We still have significant resources dedicated to finding out who did this,” Oak Bay Police Sgt. Rob Smith said.
“There’s no indication that the residents of Oak Bay are at any increased risk because of this.”
The suspect is being described as a man in his twenties, with a heavy built. He was wearing a brown jacket, dark pants and a baseball cap. He was wearing a light blue and white handkerchief wrapped around his neck.
~ with files from Yuliya Talmazan