MONROE COUNTY — The Karst Farm Greenway outside of Bloomington is usually a serene place to take a walk among the trees. That sense of peace was shattered after an assault was reported to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.
According to the sheriff's office, a man approached a woman along the trail Friday afternoon and tried to pull her shirt over her head. Authorities say the man ran away after the woman screamed and called for help.
"We are just distraught and upset," said Deputy Jeff Brown of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. "We can't even have a nice trail for people to recreate on without a fear in the back of their mind."
The suspect is still at large. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office describes him as a slender white man in his 20s with a dark curly mullet haircut, black shorts, and a black shirt.
Tonya Ferguson says she encountered the suspect after the attack.
"I run this trail quite frequently and was actually on the trail at the same time," Ferguson recalled. "I'm pretty sure I saw him."
Signs posted along the Karst Farm Greenway say it is monitored by the sheriff's office, but it mainly refers to in-person patrols. Brown said none of its cameras captured the forested part of the trail where the assault likely happened.
"We're kind of in a wooded area so I don't know the logistics of how much of an undertaking that would be to put cameras here," Brown said. "In a perfect world, we would have lights, call boxes, and cameras everywhere but then you use the serenity of a peaceful nature."
Brown said the sheriff's office did release a drone over the greenway just three minutes after the emergency call. He also said law enforcement is hoping to watch surveillance video from nearby Grandview Elementary School, but needs to wait for a court order and subpoena to do so.
Ferguson said she will continue to use the trail while law enforcement searches for the suspect.
"I'm just prepared with a little pepper spray and a little knife," Ferguson said. "Don't stop having fun because of one stupid person."
If you were on the Karst Farm Greenway on August 29 and have any photos or information, contact the Monroe County Sheriff's Office immediately.
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