Search intensifies for man who sexually assaulted 15 yr old girl

Police intensify their search for the man who abducted and sexually assaulted a 15-year-old Palm Springs girl who was going for a run.

Police say the victim was last seen running near the intersection of Sunrise Way and Mel Avenue, shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday night.

Authorities say a man found her around 7:30 a.m. Thursday morning in a vacant lot at Ramon and South Cahuilla Road near downtown Palm Springs.

Local resident Al Martinez tells us he was in an early meeting at a building across the street when a homeless man came in with the girl, who was clearly injured.

“He found her somewhere out there,” Martinez said. “Something happened to her so he brought her here. That’s when he called the ambulance.”

The girl told detectives she was abducted while on a run, and sexually assaulted.

Police have little information about the suspect.

“We do believe the suspect is a male of unknown race driving a pickup truck with dark-tinted windows,” said Sgt. Harvey Reed of Palm Springs Police. Police later said that pickup truck is white.

Margaux Ramos was in the area Wednesday night with her husband walking their dog, when she says the dog noticed something and started sniffing.

Ramos said she then heard scuffling and pulled the dog away. Now, she’s wondering if those noises were related to the crime.

“Completely in awe, I still have goose bumps,” Ramos said. “I feel so bad because what could we have done, but I don’t know I feel like we could have stopped it had we known.”