A woman was sexually assaulted by a masked man Thursday morning while walking on a trail in east Maple Ridge.
Just before 11 a.m., a man wearing a balaclava grabbed the woman in her 20s from behind on a trail that leads from Zeron Avenue to the 10600 block of 240th Street.
Ridge Meadows RCMP say the man managed to undo some of the woman’s clothing and fondled her before she was able to fight him off and flee.
"Investigators brought in the RCMP Integrated Police Dog Service, and there was a search of the area, but no suspect was located," said Cpl. Alanna Dunlop.
Police are looking for a man, approximately six feet tall wearing a black hoody, black gloves, and a black balaclava that covered his face.
The attack on the woman was the second suspicious incident in the Albion neighbourhood in the span of two hours.
Just before 9 a.m., a student walking to school on 104th Avenue was approached by a man who asked where she was going.
"This student did the right thing and did not respond to the man, and she continued to school," said Dunlop.
Police describe that man as light skinned, approximately 45 years old, six feet tall with medium length dark hair. He was wearing a black rain jacket with a hood, that was up, and there was white lettering on the jacket.
RCMP say it is too early to say if the same suspect attacked a woman on a trail two hours later, although the descriptions are similar.
Police are asking for anyone who saw a suspicious man in the area of Samuel Robertson Technical School, or the Maple Crest sub-division to call Ridge Meadows RCMP at 604-463-6251.