CANAAN — The road where a bicyclist was sexuality assulted Sunday afternoon is so lightly traveled that state police hope someone saw something that will lead them to the woman’s attackers.

A 50-year-old woman was pulled off her bicycle on Whitten Road and assaulted by two men between noon and 2:30 p.m., according to Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The men reportedly fled in a motor vehicle.

Bob Johnson, 79, a sawmill operator who lives on the road, said he was told by state police investigators that the men wore masks.

McCausland would not comment Monday on the report of the masks or what type of vehicle the two men were in.

“We’re holding back while we get some more consistent information from passersby or from nearby residents, so if we give out additional information we know it is correct,” he said. “It’s a two-edged sword here — it’s not a very heavily traveled road, so we have that problem. But because it’s not heavily traveled, the vehicles that are on it many times are more noticeable than if it had been a major artery.”

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Only about a dozen vehicles an hour use Whitten Road, McCausland said in a press release, so detectives hope the public may have information that could help.

McCausland said the woman tried to flag motorists down for help until one finally stopped and the driver called 911.

The woman is from Florida and was visiting a relative in Canaan, according to McCausland. She was treated and released from Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan.

Police are asking anyone who traveled Whitten Road Sunday afternoon to call state police in Augusta with any information they have about people or vehicles they may have seen in the area. The phone number is 624-7076 or 800-452-4664.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367
dharlow@centralmaine.com


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