Franklin Sheriff investigating after Utah woman reports being attacked while hiking

accident,

FRANKLIN, Idaho — Sheriff’s deputies are asking for the public’s help, identifying a man suspected of assaulting a hiker Monday afternoon, east of Franklin, Idaho. The assault was reported to have been near the Willow Flats Campground.

In a press release, Franklin County Sheriff David Fryar said the alleged victim went to the sheriff’s office shortly after the incident. The 35-year-old woman from Utah told deputies that she was hiking near the campground, when a man grabbed her from behind. He tackled her to the ground, where the two struggled for about a minute.

Map of the Willow Flats Campground (Google Map)

The woman said she was able to get free from the suspect and ran to her vehicle. She described her assailant as being approximately 6’ feet in height, with an average build. He had longer hair, light brown or dirty blonde that was over his ears but not yet to his shoulders. He had facial hair but not a full beard, it just appeared that he hadn’t shaved in a few days.

The woman said the alleged attacker was wearing a black shirt that had the sleeves cut off. He also had denim jeans on. She stated that his appearance was very unkept. He also had a strong odor of alcohol on him.

She estimated that the incident occurred between 3:30 and 3:40 p.m. The only other person in the area that she remembered seeing was a fisherman while hiking. She remembered a vehicle in the parking lot, which she described as a fire engine red pickup with a fishing pontoon boat in the back and possibly some kayaks or canoes. She was unsure if the vehicle could have belonged to her attacker. She had no other contact with anyone in the area where assault took place.

Upon reaching her vehicle, she stated that she quickly got in and drove down out of the canyon to where she could get cell phone service near the bottom of Cub River. She then drove to the sheriff’s office to report the incident.

Fryar said at this time, efforts are still being made to locate the suspect.  If anyone has any information about the man’s identity, contact the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office.


[email protected]

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I agree to these terms.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.