A 24-year-old tourist who took a late-night stroll down the sands off of South Beach ended up running away after fighting off a man who tried to rape her.
The woman and her boyfriend were walking in the area of 200 block of Ocean Drive at about 3 a.m. last night when they got into an argument. The woman had wanted to take a walk along the beach, but the boyfriend refused so she decided to go on her own.
The woman ended up sitting on the edge of a lifeguard stand when she was approached from behind by a Hispanic man. According to NBC Miami, the man tried to make small talk but did not speak English well. The victim did not speak Spanish.
The man than pushed the woman to the sand and forcibly kissed her.
The woman tried to fight the man off by throwing sand at him and managed to escape long enough to run into the ocean. She thought that the man would not follow her into the water, but he did and dragged her back to the beach. He then ripped the woman's underwear and unbuckled his own pants, but the woman's phone rang because her boyfriend had been trying to call her.
The assailant tried to locate the phone, and that's when the woman managed to escape. She ran back to her hotel room.
The suspect is described as 5'7" with black hair. Some DNA samples were collected from the man. An attempt to find him in the area after the attack was reported was unsuccessful. Anyone with information is asked to call 305-471-TIPS.
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