Police still looking for assault suspects

GREENCASTLE -- Police are looking for two men believed to have assaulted a woman Tuesday night.

A report from Putnam County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Robert Sibbitt said Sibbitt was dispatched just before 11 p.m. to investigate a report of battery and assault that had allegedly occurred at C.R. 500W and South Houck Bridge in Greencastle.

The alleged victim, a 25-year-old female, told officers she did not have a cell phone and fled to a residence on S. C.R. 200W to call for help after the attack.

When Sibbitt arrived at the residence, medics were already there treating the victim for injuries. Sibbitt called Deputy Mike Downing for back-up, and told Downing to try to locate the car the suspects had fled the attack scene in, which the victim described as a black Grand Am with a loud muffler. She also said there was a dark-colored bandana hanging from the vehicle's rearview mirror.

The alleged victim told police she was on her way to work in Brazil, and that when she approached Houck Bridge she noticed a vehicle stopped inside the bridge with its emergency hazard lights flashing.

Assuming the occupants of the vehicle were having car problems, the victim said she pulled into the bridge next to the vehicle, rolled down her window and "asked if everything was OK."

The victim said she observed a taller white male wearing a hat backwards in the driver's seat of the car and a smaller while male wearing blue jeans sitting in the passenger seat.

"(The victim) stated that the taller white male came to her driver's side window and stated that they were having problems and wanted to know if (the victim) had a flashlight," a case narrative said. "(The victim then released her seat belt and reached for a flashlight in the front passenger area of her vehicle."

At this point, the victim told police, the taller male grabbed her and pulled her from her car through the window. She said she was then thrown up against the suspects' car and punched in the right side of her face.

"They both had a hold of each other and (the victim) kept getting slapped in the face," the case narrative said. "The smaller white make, sometime during the struggle, made entry into (the victim's) vehicle and dumped her purse out, appearing to be looking to rob her."

Sibbiitt's report said the victim did manage to land one punch on her assailant before she was thrown across the bridge in front of her car.

The suspects then got back into their vehicle and fled eastbound toward Manhattan Road.

Because the victim had obvious injuries, she was transported from the residence to which she had fled to Putnam County Hospital. Sibbitt then "passed the information to Deputy Downing and the Clay County Sheriff's Department and to Detective Mike Biggs and his dispatch."

Sibbitt then went to the hospital to interview the victim. He took several photographs of the victim and a nurse collected DNA swabs from an abrasion on the victim's left hand and dried blood on her right hand. The swabs were then placed in an Indiana State Police suspect evidence collection kit.

The victim's car was towed to the Putnam County Jail, where it was secured and processed for evidence the Wednesday morning.

The victim was treated at PCH and released.

Putnam County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Doug Nally said although it is most people's first instinct to play good samaritan when they suspect a stranger is having trouble, it can often be dangerous to do so.

"If you're out driving and you see someone you think needs help, don't stop if you're alone," Nally said. "Call the police. We'll go check it out."

Anyone with information about the Aug. 10 incident at Houck Bridge should call the Putnam County Sheriff's Department at 653-3211.