In a house that borders Trailside Park in the Springfield Estates neighborhood of Springfield, a woman was abducted from the back yard of her home, taken inside and sexually assaulted, police sources said.
Deborah Engelhart was pet-sitting in a home along the street and heard about the attack.
"It could have been anybody," Engelhart said. "When I went in, I locked the door."
James Thomas lives a few doors down. He likes the park behind his yard and thought the attack was suspicious since the neighborhood has no through-streets. It backs up to the on-ramp for I-495 east.
"This whole neighborhood is a dead end, so it's not easy access," Thomas said.
According to police, the woman was in her back yard in the 6600 block of Stagecoach Street on Wednesday, March 31, about 9 a.m., when a man accosted her and dragged her into her home. Once inside, he sexually assaulted her and fled out the back door. The victim described her assailant as Hispanic, between 25 and 30 years old, standing about 5 feet 5 inches tall, with a medium build. The suspect had a thin mustache and some chin-hair but was otherwise clean-shaven. He had dark hair that was slicked back with what appeared to be gel. He wore faded, light-colored blue jeans; a gray, hooded sweat shirt; and tennis shoes. Anyone with information about this case or the suspect involved is asked to call police at 703-691-2131 or Crime Solvers at 1-800-673-2777.