Suspect sought in sexual assault on Town of Oregon bike trail

TOWN OF OREGON, Wis. (WMTV) - The Dane Co. Sheriff’s Office is trying to locate the man accused of sexually assaulting a woman Thursday evening while she was walking along a bike trail in the Town of Oregon.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the victim was walking along Oregon Rotary Bike Trail, near Co. Hwy. D when the man tackled her and sexually assaulted her. The woman told investigators she fought him off and was able to escape to a nearby home.

A resident of that nearby home said her family tried to track the man down.

“My dad called the cops and then he ran down to the parking lot to see what cars were still there, see if he could get the license plate,” Oregon resident Rosilyn Phillips said. “Unfortunately there were none... the attacker had already left.”

Deputies responded to the area shortly after 5 p.m. and the woman was taken to a local hospital.

Investigators believe the suspect drove off from the scene after the attack. He is described as a white man, standing around 5′10″ tall with a slender build. He has short, dark hair and a short, scruffy beard. He was reported to be wearing jeans and neon yellow hooded sweatshirt.

Dane Co. Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Elise Schaffer described the attack as disturbing and said additional patrols will be in the area of the bike trail.

“Be alert of your surroundings,” Schaffer said. “The victim in this case did have kind of a sixth sense before this happened that there was something unusual about this person on the trail that did attack her.”

The Sheriff’s Office assured residents it is working with the Oregon Police Department to provide extra patrols in the area, in the aftermath of the assault. Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call the Dane Co. Sheriff’s Office tip line at 608-284-6900 or leave a tip on the Sheriff’s Office’s app.

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