No arrests made in Palmer abduction/rape cases

Solid leads have been developed but no arrests have been made in connection with two recent abduction/rapes that occurred in the Valley.

Women shouldn't let their guard down, Alaska State Trooper investigator Leonard Wallner said, and should especially avoid walking alone at night.

On Sept. 30, a 16-year-old girl was kidnapped in Palmer and later raped. Law enforcement authorities believe the incident may be linked to another attack on a 54-year-old woman a week earlier.

Palmer police are releasing few details regarding the most recent incident, but they did say the teen-ager was abducted near the Palmer McDonald's outlet in the early morning hours. The victim told police she was released by the attacker in the Sutton area.

Palmer police received a report of the kidnapping and rape at 11:07 a.m., according to police dispatch records.

Just eight days earlier, a 54-year-old woman was ambushed from behind at Mile 49 Glenn Hwy., as she walked home from work at around 11 p.m. on Sept. 22.

The suspect was wearing a dark face mask. He grabbed the woman, dragged her into the bushes approximately 20 feet from the road and raped her, Alaska State Troopers said.

The woman was then forced into the kidnapper's vehicle and driven to another location, where the man raped her again. She was released about 1 1-2 hours later near Mile 50.5 Glenn Hwy., troopers said.

Wallner said there are definite similarities in the two cases.

The suspect wore a mask on both occasions and covered the 16-year-old girl's eyes during the attack, police said. Both women were raped and later dropped off at locations different from the places where they had been abducted.

Apparently Palmer police and troopers have made some headway in solving the crimes.

"The investigation is continuing in both cases jointly with troopers," said Palmer Police Chief George Boatright. "Progress has been made and we have fairly solid leads."

During the Sept. 22 attack, the 54-year-old victim was unable to tell troopers where she was taken, troopers said. However, Wallner said in an earlier interview with the Frontiersman that they didn't believe the suspect had driven her far from where she was abducted.

Because the woman saw her attacker only briefly, she was able to give investigators just a few clues.

According to the victim, the suspect is a man in his early 20s, approximately 6 feet tall and 180 pounds. The man was wearing a white T-shirt with black letters on the back, troopers reported.

It is unclear what kind of vehicle he was driving, but the woman told troopers it is possibly full-sized with a loud engine.

The victim also told troopers the man was quiet-spoken.

Anyone with information regarding either case is asked to call Alaska State Troopers at 745-2131 or the Palmer Police Department at 745-4811.