Herald staff
MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — Police are seeking the public’s help in identifying a man who tried to abduct and assault a 13-year-old girl in an area where a woman was raped recently.
The incident occurred shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday as a 13-year-old Edmonds resident walked to her mailbox in the 22300 block of 70th Avenue W. She was approached from behind by a man who grabbed her, covered her mouth with his hand and dragged her into a wooded area south of the Brookside Restaurant, which is closed for remodeling, police Sgt. Craig McCaul said Monday.
"She tried to break free, but was unable to," McCaul said. "She was able to scratch his arms."
The man dragged her about 50 feet down a trail, put one hand down her shorts, then removed it. He then took his hand from her mouth and said, "You’re not the person. You run that way and I’ll go this way," then he went eastbound toward 70th Avenue W., McCaul said. The girl ran westbound.
The girl estimated her attacker was 25 to 34 years old, of average height and weight. He wore a white cloth with a Spiderman logo over his head and face, a gray T-shirt, blue sweat shorts and old, grungy tennis shorts.
Police investigated a similar incident the evening of Aug. 3, when a man arranged for a woman from an escort service to meet him in the 22300 block of 70th Avenue W. When the woman got out of her car, he grabbed her from behind, covered her mouth with his hand, carried her to a mattress in a greenbelt area and raped her. That attacker also covered his face with a shirt and wore dark glasses.
Police arrested a suspect after the woman’s attacker let her go and she called for help on a cell phone. An officer in the area saw a car fitting the woman’s description and arrested him on investigation of first-degree rape and impounded his car.
Detectives ask anyone with information about the incident to call 425-670-8260.
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