OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Police say someonetried to kidnap a Kansas woman Tuesday evening as she jogged along the Indian Creek Trail, according to WDAF.
It was getting dark and Stephanie Steiniger said she had just half a mile left to finish her 14-mile run when the attack happened.
Steiniger was wearing headphones, running along Indian Creek Trail, when a man stopped her to ask for the time, she said. When Steiniger looked down at her watch, the man grabbed her wrist and tried to pull her away.
"I just twisted my wrist away, kicked him in the testicles and I ran," Steiniger told WDAF. As she ran away, she said she could hear a "guttural moan" behind her.
Police say Steiniger did what you're supposed to do: She fought back, broke free and ran off.
"It’s my understanding that she kicked him, which is good," said John Lacy of the Overland Park Police Department. "We always tell people that if you get into that situation, always fight your attacker."
Steiniger ran to a nearby business and called for help. Several Overland Park police officers searched the trail Tuesday night for the suspect, but they could not find him. He was last seen running away to the southwest.
Overland Park police say they continue to have officers on the trail both in uniform and in plain clothes, so trail users may not recognize that a police officer is watching them.
"In Overland Park there are a lot of people who use that trail. There’s a lot of families that walk after dinner. There are a lot of people who exercise on that trail," Lacy said. "We are going to remain focused on the trail at this time. In the past, present, we will still be there."
The attacker has been described as slim with dark hair. Police say he was wearing a zip-up hoodie with dark jeans and glasses.
