Initial reports indicated that the woman was jogging when she was accosted by the suspect and then abducted and held hostage near the shooting range\quarry area on Devils Peak.
Image: Take Back Our Mountain/Facebook
A 42-year-old man has been arrested for the attempted rape of a woman who had been jogging alone near Phillip Kgosana Drive, Devil’s Peak Estate, Woodstock, around 6pm.
The woman, 45, had gone missing and was being searched for by her husband, friend and mountain rangers when she was found with slight bruises after surviving an alleged attack by the man last Wednesday, April 9.
Provincial police spokesperson, Sergeant Wesley Twigg says Woodstock police registered an attempted rape case for the incident.
Sergeant Twigg says the circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation.
“We can confirm that a 42-year-old male was arrested and appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court,” he says.
Woodstock police station commander, Colonel Delven Matroos says the alleged perpetrator was also on the scene when the woman was found and mountain rangers took him into custody.
South African National (SAN)parks spokesperson, JP Louw says that they joined the search after they were alerted by the family that the woman was missing. “The person was found with slight bruises. The police were called and a suspect was detained,” he says.
Mr Louw says that SANparks is taking various steps to push back against criminal activities. “These include the use of technology, forming partnerships, increasing personnel, deploying a specialised K9 unit, to name a few. We conduct regular patrols and targeted operations based on the intelligence gathered from reported incidents on trails.”
If anyone has information about the incident, they can call Woodstock police at 021 442 3117.