Victim of early morning assault remains in hospital

EL DORADO — A 61-year-old woman remained in a Little Rock hospital Tuesday, three days after she was attacked while out for an early-morning walk, according to information released by the El Dorado Police Department.

Capt. Kevin Holt, public information officer for the EPD, said the woman was listed in stable condition at Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock.

Her injuries are not life threatening, he said.

Holt said the investigation is continuing into the abduction and attack that was reported early Saturday morning after the woman was found unresponsive behind an abandoned commercial building.

The woman told police that she had parked the vehicle at 4:45 a.m. at the South Arkansas Arts Center, 110 W. Fifth, to begin her walk.

She said a man forced her inside his vehicle in the area of College and Eighth Street and struck her numerous times.

Officers were called at 5:30 p.m. to the area of Main Street and Madison Avenue in reference to a woman who was unresponsive behind an abandoned commercial building.

The woman was transported by ambulance to Medical Center of South Arkansas and later transferred to Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock.

She described her assailant as a white male, approximately 30 – 35 years old, driving a small vehicle.

Holt said the vehicle was a dark colored car, and investigators are checking with businesses and residences for any video surveillance

footage, particularly the areas of College and Eighth, and Main and Madison.

“We’re asking anybody, any business or homeowner with a security camera pointed at the road that may have gotten any dark colored cars between four o’ clock and 5:30 a.m., to let us know,” Holt said. “We will have an investigator come out and speak with them.”

Holt said the woman was discovered behind a former ice house, which sits on a hill just east of the railroad tracks in the area of Main and Madison.

Holt declined to answer several questions about the incident, including if the suspect was armed, a possible motive behind the attack, and the type of injuries the woman sustained.

“We’re not releasing a lot of those details. We’re still working on that. We’re working on putting some things together right now,” he said.

“I know our investigators have also been down in the area of (the South Arkansas Arts Center) and have made contacts with numerous folks,” Holt said. “I’m not sure what they’ve gotten yet.”

Such attacks are uncommon in El Dorado, and police are working to bring the suspect to justice he said.

He urged people who run and/or walk outside during the early-morning hours to take precaution and report any suspicious activity.

He said portions of the route that was taken by the victim were part of a regular pattern.

“We don’t want to put a lot of that out there in the early stages of this investigation,” Holt said.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to call 870863-4141 or 870-881-4810.