Kelowna woman assaulted while jogging along Mission Greenway

The Kelowna RCMP is warning the public to be vigilant while enjoying the Mission Park Greenway as an assault was recently reported.

On April 26 an 18-year-old woman reported being attacked along the Mission Greenway at approximately 7:30 a.m. The incident took place near the south end of Hollywood Road South when the woman was jogging alone.

Police say she was grabbed by an unknown man from behind but was able to fight her attacker off. The woman ran three kilometres back to her vehicle, luckily uninjured.

The suspect has been described to police as:

• Caucasian male;
• 25 years;
• 6 ft tall;
• Short medium brown hair worn flat;
• Having a neatly trimmed beard;
• Muscular build;

He was seen wearing:

• blue jeans;
• black jacket;
• large silver watch with Roman Numerals;

Before the incident was reported to Kelowna RCMP, a status post on Facebook went viral as a friend of the victim told others about what had happened. Charmaine Halliburton sent the warning out to her friends, and it ended up being shared more than 1,500 times before she removed the post.

It took some time for the information to get out to the public via media as the young victim did not report the assault properly to police.

“She called (RCMP) as soon as it happened but the way she explained it to me was she was very scatterbrained and doesn’t think she explained it well to them,” Halliburton told KelownaNow in an interview. “She will make an official police report today, because she tried yesterday and she was too shaken up.”

KelownaNow contacted RCMP early Wednesday morning to find out if the incident was reported, but RCMP Cst. Jesse O’Donaghey was unable to locate a file on the incident. The assault was reported to police on Wednesday just before 11:30 a.m., but the public wasn’t made aware until around 3 p.m.

“RCMP would like to remind residents walking, jogging and biking alone to plan your route, vary your routine and avoid isolated areas,” said Cst. Jesse O’Donaghey. “RCMP would also like to encourage all victims to report such incidents to the police as soon as it is safe to do so”

Halliburton was shocked by the amount of emails and calls she received following the post, many thanking her for sharing the story with others.

“Just because a trail is popular and there are a lot of people there it doesn’t necessarily mean it is safe. Instances like this happen everywhere, even in Salmon Arm where I am. You think you are safe, but then you are not.”

The Kelowna RCMP continues to investigate the incident and are asking the public to report any suspicious activity along the Greenway. Anyone with any information is asked to contact Cst. Ryan Routley of the Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300.