Deputies looking for suspect in attack on woman at Woodfield Park in Aliso Viejo

Investigators were searching for a man who they say attacked a woman while she was skateboarding in Aliso Viejo on Monday, Jan. 20.

They released a composite sketch of the suspect on Tuesday in hopes the public could held identify him.

The woman told deputies that she was at Woodfield Park in Aliso Viejo when a man tried to talk to her then attacked her, said Carrie Braun, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

“He grabbed the victim who fought and screamed during the incident,” Braun said.

He threw her on the ground, she added, and dragged her into the bushes and then fled. The victim was in good health as of Tuesday evening, despite her ordeal, Braun said.

“She’s doing OK, and we were able to talk to her last night,” she said. “She gave us a pretty good description, which we hope will lead detectives to a suspect.”

The victim described the assailant as a light-skinned black or Hispanic man in his 40s with dark hair. He’s about six feet tall with a medium build. He was wearing a gray, hooded sweatshirt and shorts.

The Sheriff’s Department asked that anyone with information about the case call the Special Victims Detail at 714-647-7419. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.

It was not immediately clear if the assault on Monday was related to previous attacks on women that had been reported along the same trail in September, Braun said. At least two other cases of attempted kidnapping that took place there remained open, Braun said.