Authorities are looking for a man who sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl Monday on a bike path in suburban Beach Park.
Deputies responded about 7:30 p.m. to a report of an attack on the Robert McClory Bike Path, just north of Yorkhouse Road, the Lake County sheriff’s office said in a statement.
The girl was walking on the path when a man emerged from the tree line, grabbed her by the neck, pushed her to the ground and sexually assaulted her, the sheriff’s office said.
A witness heard the girl screaming, and began yelling to the girl to run for help, the sheriff’s office said. The attacker ran and the witness called 911.
The girl was taken to a hospital for her injuries, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators believe the attacker fled the area in a vehicle.
He was described as possibly in his 20s and about 5-foot-11. He had “numerous metal hair barrettes in his hair,” the sheriff’s office said.
Anyone with information can call the Lake County Sheriff’s Criminal Investigations Division at 847-377-4000.
