PORT SHELDON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A woman fought off a sexual assault that followed a car crash on US-31 this past Sunday, says the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office.
A 24-year-old woman told deputies that she was at Duncan Woods in Grand Haven Sunday evening September 8 when she got the feeling she was being followed.
Suspicious, she decided to leave the area, but the man followed close behind.
The man then allegedly drove his silver SUV into her Jeep near US-31 and Lake Michigan Drive, but both vehicles continued for another few miles.
Captain Jacob Sparks with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that it was a minor crash.
Thinking the man wanted to exchange information and file a police report, the 24-year-old got out of her car. The woman took out her phone and started a video recording as he approached.
That's when the man attacked her, touching her inappropriately, according to deputies.
The woman was able to fight the man off and call 911.
FOX 17 asked Capt. Sparks Wednesday afternoon if they believed the man was trying to abduct the woman.
"We're still working on it, but it certainly appears that way," he said.
The woman ultimately suffered minor injuries that did not require a trip to the hospital.
Detectives quickly identified the suspect as a 60-year-old from Muskegon.
He was located and arrested on Monday, September 9 in Muskegon. He's currently being held in the Muskegon County Jail on parole violations.
Criminal charges for the assault are pending review by the Ottawa County Prosecutor's Office.
"With a random act like this, it's a community safety issue, and I'm glad that he's in custody at this time," Capt. Sparks said.
While statistics on adults being abducted by non-family members is somewhat scarce, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children say kidnappings perpetrated by non-family members make up just 1% of all missing children cases.
"There's definitely my concern that if she wouldn't have gotten away and contacted 911, that something much worse would have happened," Sparks said Wednesday.
Anyone who may have witnessed any part of the incident on Sunday are asked to contact the Sheriff's Office at (616) 734-4000, or anonymously through Silent Observer at 1-877-88-SILENT.
Investigators also want to speak with a potential witness still out there: someone at the gas station Sunday evening driving a green pick up truck, with "wood side rails" on the truck's bed.
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