Bellingham Police Department releases sketch of suspect in recent Lake Padden attack
Bellingham Police have released the likeness of the man suspected in a brazen attack on a jogger at Lake Padden last weekend.
Police spokeswoman Megan Peters said the woman, who was not named, was knocked to the ground and punched several times in the face. She was sent her to the hospital with unspecified injuries.
“Investigators had a sketch artist work with a witness in the Lake Padden assault case to generate a sketch of the assailant,” the Police Department said in a social media post Thursday afternoon.
A witnesses came to her aid while another witness watched where the attacker fled, police said.
Police said the assailant was described as a white man in his 30s, with an average to physically fit build. He is about 5 feet, 8 inches to 5 feet, 10 with a distinct receding hairline. He was wearing blue jeans and possibly a gray shirt.
The attack happened about 10:30 a.m. Saturday as the woman jogged past a man on on the horse trails on the southeast side of Lake Padden, police said in a separate social media post.
Her attacker was last seen running down a hill near milepost 1 ¾ of the trail toward Interstate 5, police said.
Police waited two days to publicized the incident, and later apologized for the delay on social media.
“If you were in the area of Lake Padden or driving past the area on I-5, you may have seen something that is connected to the incident. Or, did you witness any odd occurrence in the days before or after the incident on the trail system?” police said online.
Anyone who recognizes the person in the sketch is asked to contact Bellingham Police at 360-778-8611 or online at www.cob.org/tips. Reference case number 24B35293.
