Woman kidnapped, raped

PALMER -- A 54-year-old woman was kidnapped and raped by a masked man late Saturday night as she walked along the Glenn Highway just north of Palmer, Alaska State Troopers reported.

According to Investigator Leonard Wallner, the woman was ambushed from behind at Mile 49 Glenn Hwy. at around 11 p.m. while walking home from work. The suspect, wearing a dark face mask, grabbed the woman and immediately "obstructed her vision," Wallner said.

The suspect dragged the woman into the bushes about 20 feet from the road and sexually molested her.

"He was basically hiding in the bushes with his vehicle parked nearby," Wallner said.

The woman was forced into the kidnapper's vehicle where he drove her to another location and raped her again, Wallner said.

The suspect then drove the woman back to the highway where he released her near Mile 50.5 Glenn Hwy., according to troopers. The victim called 911 at around 12:36 a.m., according to troopers.

While it is not known where the man drove the victim, troopers do not believe the second sexual assault occurred far from where the woman was initially grabbed.

"The entire ordeal lasted about an hour and a half and judging by the time line they didn't go too far away from the vicinity between the two attacks," Wallner said.

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 and sounded Caucasian, troopers said.

Troopers said there were apparently no witnesses and it does not appear the attacker used a weapon during the kidnapping and rape. However, he reportedly did threaten to harm the woman during the assault.

Anyone with information regarding this crime is asked to call the Alaska State Troopers in Palmer at 745-2131.