OJAI : Attacker Flees After Deputies Close In
Deputies combed the rural west side of Ojai with a helicopter, a police dog and nine patrol cars Sunday night, searching unsuccessfully for a man who attacked a Ventura woman.
The 25-year-old woman told the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department that her car broke down and she was looking for a phone about 9 p.m. when a man on a bicycle approached her.
The man dragged her into the Nordhoff Cemetery at Cuyama and Del Norte roads, pushed her to the ground and tried to undress her, Sgt. Dee Bryce said.
The woman screamed, alerting a nearby resident, who called the Sheriff’s Department, Bryce said.
The man fled when he saw the deputies. Searchers failed to find the assailant, but the bicycle and other items were recovered, Bryce said. The woman had scratches on her hands.
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