Olympia police are looking for the public's help locating a suspect who attacked a woman while she was walking home from work Saturday night.
Police are calling the incident an attempted kidnapping and assault, Lt. Paul Lower said.
About 10:30 p.m. Saturday, the woman had finished her shift at a west Olympia restaurant and was walking home in the 2200 block of Ninth Avenue Southwest, near Fern Street.
The woman, in her 50s, told police that she noticed a man following her. Afraid that something might happen to her, she pulled out a ballpoint pen to defend herself.
Then, suddenly, the man grabbed her around the waist and pulled her away from the road onto a grassy area. She was able to free herself by stabbing him in the leg with the pen.
Police recovered parts of the pen and sent it to a lab for DNA analysis, Lower said. They also searched the area and contacted area hospitals to see if anyone showed up with a leg injury matching the woman's description.
The man is described as white, possibly in his 30s, with a thin build. He was last seen wearing a baseball cap, black jeans and a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt.
Lower reminded residents that if you're walking at home at night, it's a good idea to let others know when you leave and when you get home.
It's also important to report suspicious activity. Police learned that the woman had seen the man on two previous occasions, Lower said.
"Calling 911 and reporting something suspicious is completely acceptable," he said.
Anyone with information about the Saturday night incident is asked to call Olympia police at 360-753-8300.
