Woman tied to tree at Pebble Beach by unknown armed assailant, deputies say
A woman hiking in Pebble Beach was tied to a tree by an armed man early December 4
By Felix Cortez & Ricardo Tovar
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DEL MONTE FOREST, California (KSBW) — A woman hiking in Pebble Beach was tied to a tree by an armed man early Wednesday morning, leading to a search for the suspect.
There is no active shooter in the area even though there were reports of one in the area, per a deputy spokesperson.
The spokesperson told KSBW 8 that a man was on a walk at around 9:30 a.m. when he heard a woman screaming and crying for help. He found her tied near a tree by the Pebble Beach Company maintenance yard in a wooded area between Haul Road and Highway 68, per the spokesperson.
A second person was also walking in the area and helped untie the victim from the tree before calling for help.
The woman in her 40s said she was out walking at around 7:30 a.m. when she was being followed by a male.
“During that encounter, the male subject produced a handgun,” said deputy spokesperson Andy Rosas. “The male basically walked her over to a tree and proceeded to tie her up to the tree. And shortly thereafter, the male walked away.”
The man just left on foot. She said she was not injured, assaulted or robbed.
She is found a few hours later. She was taken to the hospital for a checkup.
The culprit was described as a Hispanic male adult in his 30s who was wearing a green hat and grey sweater. He had a tattoo on the right side of his neck with the first letter being the letter “Z.”
CAL FIRE launched a drone, but the culprit was not located.
“That extensive search was done with negative results, finding anyone matching the description of the suspect that was provided at this point,” said Rosas.
There were no shelter-on-place orders issued by the sheriff’s office at any point.
Pebble Beach Company did put out a shelter-in-place for its maintenance yard and for parts of the Poppy Hills. That was lifted once it was determined there was no threat to the community.
The maintenance yard is where they go to discard downed trees and lumber.
“That’s so sinister, really,” said a hiker, Gwen Estep. “It wasn’t just that she was hurt. She was really violated in a strange way. I hope she’s all right.”
The sheriff’s office would also like to talk to another woman who was hiking in the area and crossed paths with the victim.
She is described as a female wearing black clothing who was walking a large black dog.
If you believe you know who she is or how to locate her, please contact the authorities.
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