Manhunt Underway After Woman Survives Knife-Point Rape Attack In Central Park

A woman faced rape at knifepoint during a horrifying incident while walking through New York City last Saturday night, leaving the suspect still on the run. The unidentified 39-year-old victim was strolling near East 66th Street and Fifth Avenue just after 8:30pm when a man allegedly brandished a knife against her. He forced her into Central Park where the sexual assault took place before a passerby spotted the crime and called 911, causing the suspect to flee deeper into the massive 843-acre park.

Officers from the Central Park Precinct and paramedics arrived quickly at the scene. They transported the victim to a nearby hospital where she remains in stable condition as of Sunday morning. Police have launched a manhunt for the unidentified attacker who was last seen running westbound, dressed entirely in black with a matching black backpack. No physical description has been released by investigators yet.

The hunt continues with hope that surveillance cameras inside and around Central Park will provide clues to track him down. Anyone with information should contact the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish speakers. Tips can also go online or via direct message to @NYPDTips. All calls stay confidential.

Resident Davis Defore, 30, was walking his dog Harlow through Central Park shortly before the attack according to The New York Post. 'I was like, Oh, my goodness. It's literally that same path,' Defore said after letting Harlow play in the field right where he walked. He noted it is very concerning for a large area of New York City and admitted feeling uneasy with his fiancé walking her dog at night.

Valentina Mizrahi, 30, has lived in the neighborhood since 2021 and said she never felt afraid herself but her mother did warn her otherwise after speaking with a nearby hotel doorman who claimed Central Park 'gets ugly' after dark. Another local resident, Ian Moreira, told WABC News that he comes here often especially to this area. He walks frequently and has seen scary stuff happen around the subway but said never in Central Park itself.

This latest attack happens just one week after a terrifying assault on 32-year-old Katherine Marroquin who was struck in the head by three masked men while cycling through Central Park after work. On October 18, as Marroquin rode her bike near West 93rd Street and West Drive on her way home to the Bronx, three men suddenly appeared out of the darkness according to ABC 7 News.

'It's just... they were hiding somewhere, like it was really dark and they waited for me to lean down and wait. And then they appeared,' Marroquin told the outlet. As she stopped to retrieve an AirPod that had fallen from her ear, she looked up and was struck in the head while the three men closed in around her rifling through her belongings.

'The first thing I know was like, is it my life or them... it's three people by myself,' Marroquin said. 'I got to defend myself. I didn't think about money or anything.' She thought about her life and seeing her mom again so she grabbed the cup and hit one of the guys in the head. Police are still working the scene for clues but had not made an arrest by Sunday morning as they scour for any leads that could help solve these cases.

She said that explains why they ran and left me alone," she added. The three suspects are still at large. Months earlier, police arrested a homeless man for allegedly trying to rape a 44-year-old woman in Central Park. On June 12, the unidentified victim was near West Drive and West 64th Street shortly after 6:15 am when she supposedly faced sexual assault by 26-year-old Nazzarius Rager, according to Patch. She suffered a cut on her head while fighting back against Rager, who fled before police caught him later. The woman went to a nearby hospital for treatment. Authorities charged Rager with attempted rape, assault, sexual abuse, and unlawful imprisonment. That attack matched another incident in the park on March 23 near East 109th Street and East Drive, according to the outlet. Police stated the 45-year-old victim sat on a bench when Lateef Caldwell, 30, assaulted her. Caldwell ran away after other parkgoers chased him off. At the time, he lived in a homeless shelter on Randall's Island. Officials charged Caldwell with attempted rape, attempted sexual abuse, and sexual abuse. This is breaking news.