Frankfort police: Runners stay alert

Groping incidents have recently occurred on Old Plank Trail

Frankfort police are looking for a man who has reportedly been approaching women and groping them recently along Old Plank Road Trail.

The latest incident occurred about 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, when a woman on the running path reported to police that a man grabbed her buttocks as she passed near Indian Boundary Park.

He then ran away through the park, she said.

She said she first saw the man on the trail near the east side of the LaGrange Road bridge before she headed back east and noticed him ahead of her near the pond at Prairie Park.

The man is described as black, having an athletic build, in his late 20s or early 30s and 5-and-a-half to 6-feet tall. Police said he was wearing a red and gray tight shirt, black spandex pants and a stocking cap.

Police Chief John Burica said a similar incident occurred on Oct. 23 near the same location, and involved a man with a similar description who grabbed the buttocks of another woman.

Burica said catching the offender is a high priority for the department.

He said officers regularly patrol the trail, but he’s reminding people to report anything suspicious to police.

“I don’t want people to think they’re wasting our time or that it’s nothing important,” Burica

said about people reporting to police. “I’d rather have our officers out there to find nothing important than not be notified.”

He said people should always be aware of their surrounding whether they’re on the trail or shopping at a store.

Burica said someone is exercising on the trail with headphones they should keep one ear open.

He said this despite this latest rash of incidents on Old Plank Road Trail, it is generally safe. Prior to the October groping incidents, Burica said the last incident occurred in June when an offender knocked a woman down and he was later caught and arrested.