BRANFORD -- An alleged assault of a young, female jogger Tuesday night has one Branford neighborhood on high alert.
Police said at approximately 8:30 p.m., they received a 911 call about the assault, which occurred on Mill Creek Road, which is less than a mile from Branford Point and the train station.
Perhaps the perpetrator chose the wrong neighborhood, though. FOX61 has learned A number of police officers live on the road where are the alleged incident occurred.
Police report that the woman allegedly assaulted last night on Mill Creek Road is OK physically. But, just like her, a woman our camera caught up with was jogging alone.
“Usually, we run in a group, but sometimes it’s nice just to do your own thing on your own,” said Lisa Torelli of Branford, who said even though she wears ear buds, she’s always alert.
Some residents of the Mill Creek neighborhood did not hear about it until this morning.
When she found out, Carol Martens said she was was home alone, because her husband had gone fishing.
“I went around and I said I think I better lock my doors and I went to lock them all,” Martens said. “The house had been wide open.”
Pretty surprising, a little shocking,” said Rachel Comen, an avid walker, who lives in the neighborhood. “I know it’s an area where there’s a lot of joggers and walkers and kids in the neighborhood. So, definitely frightening.”
Police said the alleged victim described her attacker as a male, in his late teens, who was wearing a dark, hooded sweatshirt.
“We have a ton of patrol units in the area, canvassing the area,” said Det. Lt. Dominick Eula of the Branford Police Dept. “We’re checking for video surveillance. We’re doing everything we can to locate him. But, we’re asking for the publics help, as well.”
Police said that, before being assaulted on Mill Creek Rd., the young woman had been jogging nearby on Harbor St., Reynolds Ave., Driscoll Rd. and Maple St.
Police ask that, if you live or work on any of these streets and have surveillance video, you reach out to them.
A resident of the Mill Creek neighborhood, who declined an interview request, told FOX61 off-camera that, around the time of the alleged assault, she saw two people, wearing hooded sweatshirts, rummaging through her trash and recycle bins out by the road.