Fort Collins police are investigating a reported attempted sexual assault on a pedestrian trail less than a half-mile from their headquarters Sunday evening.
A 14-year-old girl told police that a man on a bike approached her as she walked along the Power Trail west of Timberline and north of Drake roads, near the railroad tracks, shook her hand, then grabbed her in a “bear hug” and tried to pull off her shorts.
“It was in close proximity to a populated area and close to the police station,” said police spokeswoman Rita Davis.
A passer-by interrupted, and the man rode south on the trail on his red bicycle, the girl told police.
The trail runs north-south between a neighborhood and some open fields that border Timberline. The police station is clearly visible from the spot where the girl reported being assaulted.
Davis said the girl described the man as Hispanic, in his mid 30s, 5 feet, 6 inches tall, weighing approximately 200 pounds, with brown eyes, “greasy” black hair, bushy eyebrows, and a thick bushy mustache.
He was last seen wearing a black and “dusty blue” fleece zip-up jacket and carrying a dark-colored backpack with a reflector on it. He spoke limited English with an accent.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Fort Collins Det. Jungmeyer at 416-2195 or Crime Stoppers of Larimer County at 221-6868.