COLUMBIA — A 31-year-old woman was raped last week at Cosmopolitan Park, and her assailant still remains at large.
The woman was driving west on Business Loop 70 around midnight on Friday when a man wearing a ski mask got into the passenger side of her car while she was stopped at the street’s intersection with Range Line Street.
The victim told police that the man told her he had a knife, but said she never saw the weapon, according to Columbia Police Public Information Officer Jessie Haden.
The suspect instructed the woman to drive to Cosmopolitan Park, located at 1615 Business Loop 70 West, and to park the car inside the park. The man sexually assaulted the victim inside her car and disappeared into a nearby wooded area on foot, police said.
The victim did not report the rape immediately and went to a friend’s house shortly after the incident. She sought medical treatment Saturday evening, and an emergency room nurse contacted police, Haden said.
The victim described the suspect as a white male with dark hair in his early 20s. She said his ski mask, gloves and hooded sweatshirt were all black and that he was wearing blue jeans. She said he was 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed about 160 pounds.
Police ask that anyone with information about the case contact CrimeStoppers at 875-TIPS.