Nanaimo RCMP say a woman is traumatized after narrowly escaping an attempted abduction Thursday night.
Nanaimo RCMP Const. Gary O’Brien said the woman, who is in her early 20s, “was violently assaulted and a male tried to drag her into his car” around 7 p.m. in the 6900 block of Dickenson Road, near May Bennett Pioneer Park.
“It all started as she was walking along the road, she just got off the city bus, she saw a vehicle that was driving erratically, it did a couple of weird turns, she noticed it, then seconds later the car pulls up beside her, the male asks for directions,” O’Brien said.
“She provides them on her phone and about three seconds later he’s on top of her, and the fight is on. She fights for her life, she gets away from it, she runs to a house and the people in the house call 911.”
RCMP allege the attacker struck the woman in the head with a blunt object while she was looking up the directions, and that a later medical examination revealed injuries consistent with an assault.
O’Brien said the victim is expected to fully recover, but “she was naturally traumatized by the ordeal.”
Officers responding to the 911 call were unable to locate the suspect, but O’Brien said the woman was able to provide a good description.
Investigators are now looking for a Caucasian man between 50 and 60 years of age with average height and weight and a scruffy face, as well as grey or dark brown hair.
Police are also looking for a newer-model silver or grey Mitsubishi Outlander with Alberta licence plates and the front bumper hanging off.
Anyone with information is asked to call Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345.