Prowler Grabs Woman in San Gorgonio Yard, She Screams and Gets Away

A woman was assaulted in her backyard by an intruder Monday night in San Gorgonio but she screamed and escaped his grasp, a sheriff's sergeant said Wednesday.

Deputies responded about 9:30 p.m. that night to the 13000 block of Halbrent Avenue, near the Colorado River Aqueduct and north of Tamarack Road, Sgt. Steve Fredericks of the sheriff's Cabazon Station said.

A woman said she went into her backyard to retrieve a pet when the intruder, in dark clothing and hiding behind foliage, stepped out and grabbed her, Fredericks said.

She screamed for help and got away, while the suspect ran. The woman was not seriously injured, Fredericks said.

Deputies searched the area but could not find the prowler. Investigators were uncertain of the motive behind the attack.

They were pursuing "all possibilities and investigative avenues," Fredericks said.

San Gorgonio is the small community between Cabazon and Whitewater, on the north side of Interstate 10 at the Haugen-Lehman Way ramps.

Anyone with more information was urged to call Detective Dion Davis of the Cabazon Station at (951) 922-7100, or email CabazonStation@RiversideSheriff.org.