Weather Hinders Dogs’ Tracking of Rape Suspect

Orange County sheriff’s deputies used bloodhounds Wednesday to track a man who raped a woman at a Lake Forest shopping complex, but the search was called off because rain and mist washed away the attacker’s scent, authorities said.

The rapist surprised the 48-year-old woman from behind about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday and used a knife to force her into a narrow space between a large trash bin and a brick wall in the 24200 block of Muirlands Boulevard. The woman was raped there, next to the drugstore where she works. She was left bound and gagged with duct tape and lay in the rain for two hours.

Around midnight, the woman crawled about 50 feet into the parking lot, where she was found by a customer of a grocery store, the only store nearby that stays open all night. An employee called 911.

The woman told authorities that she did not hear the man flee in a car; she heard only his footsteps.

Deputies used bloodhounds because the rapist might have remained nearby and because he might not own a car, possibly leaving a trail to his home or a hide-out, said Orange County sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino. The dogs got the rapist’s scent from an article of clothing police believe he used to mask his face and then left behind. But the dogs lost the scent in the rain, Amormino said.

The woman was taken to Martin Luther Hospital in Anaheim.

Investigators believe the rape was an isolated incident, Amormino said. They think the rapist chose the shopping center because lighting there is poor. When most of the surrounding shops closed by 9 p.m., it was relatively easy for the attacker to find a spot where his crime would not be seen or heard, Amormino said.

Eve Jones, owner of the nearby Cafe Latte shop, went to work early Wednesday morning and watched as helicopters surveyed the area, casting an eerie glow in the dark and mist.

“There’s lots of things to hide behind around here,” Jones said. “It’s so cruel to leave her that way . . . one final indignity to leave her in the cold and in the rain like that.”

Jones said she is warning her female customers, in particular women who come before dawn and after dark, often leaving their cars running as they fetch coffee.

Investigators have few leads and only a vague description. They plan to canvass the area tonight for more clues.