Police say they have ‘person of interest’ in suspected Manito Park assaults

Spokane police identified a “person of interest” in the assaults last week of two women in the area of Manito Park.

No arrests have been made and police did not release the name of the person.

A news release from the department said the perpetrator’s description is not being released at this time as detectives work to verify information.

Spokane police Cpl. Nick Briggs, a spokesman for the department, said police know the identity and description of the person of interest.

“But our job is to either prove or disprove that our person of interest is the person responsible,” Briggs wrote in a text message. “Putting out the description of our known person would not serve any investigative purpose and would be prejudicial. The description we would want to put out is of the individual who committed the acts based on their appearance at the scene.”

He said detectives are working to ensure they have an accurate description of the perpetrator at the scene.

The assaults Jan. 20 drew comments on Nextdoor, a social networking service for neighborhoods, from concerned Manito Park users and others.

One woman wondered about the extent of the attacks and said they were “super scary.” Others called the reported attacks “terrible” and “awful.”

Another person wrote he would keep an eye out during his morning runs at the park.

A news release said two women reported similar but separate assaults. The incidents occurred in the morning and involved a male running up behind the victims, briefly grabbing “a sensitive area of their person” and running off.

Special Victims Unit detectives are investigating the incident and following up on leads, the release said.

Those with information about the incidents, or similar acts, are encouraged to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233 and reference Case No. 2022-20010293.