CAROLINE COUNTY, Va. -- Deputies in Caroline County continue to search for a man they said attacked woman as she pumped gas on her way to work Wednesday. Deputies released a photo of the man they desperately want to catch.
A clerk at the Exxon on Rogers Clark Boulevard in Ruther Glen said just before the attack early Wednesday, the man came inside and asked to buy a single condom, then left. What happened next, has deputies pulling out all the stops to make sure he doesn't strike again.
"There was a woman in the process of pumping gas,” Caroline Sheriff's Office Maj. Scott Moser said. "She went into the car to retrieve something and he came up from behind and the man forced her in the car."
Investigators said the woman fought off her attacker. She was not seriously hurt but she suffered scrapes and bruises.
"When she struggled with the man, she fought for her life and during the struggle she said the man had strong body odor," Moser said.
After running from the Exxon station, the man made it to a pole that holds up a billboard. There they think he turned and darted across Rogers Clark Boulevard and he hasn't been seen since.
Caroline County suspect
Detectives scrolled through surveillance video taken inside the store and looked around pump #7 for clues.
"As sad as it is, I'm not totally surprised, but it is scary,” said VCU student Erin Dayhoff, who was in Caroline County Wednesday afternoon helping her parents with car trouble.
Their car stalled in the same parking lot where the woman had been attacked hours earlier. So while they waited for help, they kept an eye out and watched deputies circle the area. "I always pump gas when people are around and if no one is there I don't stop," said Dayhoff.
Deputies said the man was wearing shorts, ankle high boots and a black T-shirt. They said the incident occurred in a busy area with a lot of truck stop traffic, so they're hoping someone saw something and will call their office.
Call the Caroline County Sheriff’s Office at 804-633-1133 if you have information that could help investigators.
