Sketch released of person of interest in Provo Parkway assault

PROVO — Provo police released a sketch of a person of interest in connection with an attack and sexual assault of a 20-year-old woman on the Provo River Parkway Monday night.

 He's described as having an olive skin tone, about 5-feet 11-inches tall, in his mid-20s, and having a boxer-type athletic build. He wore black shoes, black sweatpants and a black, hooded sweatshirt with the drawstring pulled tight, covering most of his face.

The woman was jogging along the stretch of parkway near 900 West and 800 North in Provo by herself around 9 p.m. when someone grabbed her, took her off the trail into the woods at knifepoint and raped her. The man also cut her several places in the face, arms and body area.

"This guy had been there for some time, making sure the area was safe, picking out the spot he wanted to be in," said Provo Police Sgt. Matt Siufanua.

Doctors found her knife wounds to be superficial. She is now recovering at home, but is understandably dealing with a very traumatic event.

Another runner saw this man in the area just before the attack. She told police he just didn't seem right. "She remembers a lot of details of an individual that was on the trail, in the same location, about 30 to 40 minutes before the incident,” Siufanua said.

Anyone who things they might recognize the man is asked to call Detective Taylor at 801-852-7328.

The trail is one of the more popular trails in Provo, but no matter how popular it is, Karissa Dolan won’t run here without her friend, not even during the day.

“It’s dangerous, and I think people think it’s safe here and predators know that,” she said.

Police say they don't want to scare anybody and try to keep them from going outside and enjoying a run; but at the same time, police do want people to know there are things they can do to try to keep themselves safer.

"We want to get the message out to girls and guys, when you run on the trail, make sure you run in doubles, have a safety net, maybe a cellphone on you,” Siufanua said.

For Dolan, she follows that advice and even goes a bit further just to be safe. “I have my running buddy,” she said, “but I also have pepper spray and a whistle.”