A woman was attacked on the Norm-Hudlin Trails in Gqeberha on Tuesday, in the first violent incident at the popular hiking facility since its establishment almost two decades ago
According to another hiker and one of the first people on the scene, the woman, who appeared to be in shock, suffered facial injuries during the attack and received medical treatment shortly afterwards.
A cellphone and the woman’s peak cap were stolen.
Norm-Hudlin Trails’ owner Linden Gerber said security would be stepped up on the 72ha property, located along Kragga Kamma Road, in light of the attack.
The witness, who did not want to be named, said the woman told her she had been walking on one of the trails, with her partner.
The woman was then allegedly attacked by a man who had passed her by moments earlier.
The witness said she had intended going for a morning walk along the trails with her husband and children but they encountered the bloodied woman and her dogs in the parking lot at about 7.30am.
“As we pulled in, her little dog was coming towards the car with its tail between its legs.
“My son got out the car and she came from behind the building.
“She had blood all over her mouth and was wet on the one side ... she was in a ton of shock.
“She said [her attacker] had a ruck sack and an orange glove.
“I don’t know when, how or why they [the couple] separated, but my husband is a trail runner and will sometimes go ahead of me so I suspect it was something similar.
"[She said] this guy passed her, greeted her and then the next minute he attacked her from behind.
“He was sticking his fingers down her throat and twisting, that’s why she was bleeding from her mouth.
“And he started pulling down her pants but got up, stopped, kicked her and took her phone and just walked away.”
She said they called the woman’s husband, who arrived a few minutes later and was shocked to find her in that state.
“She kept saying she thought she was going to die — it must have been extremely terrifying for her.
“Norm Hudlin is known for being safe and this just shows [crime] can happen anywhere.”
She said about 45 minutes after the incident, two other hikers emerged from a trail but had not seen anything suspicious.
The witness said the couple were taken to the Kabega Park police station to open a criminal complaint but police spokesperson Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said no case was opened.
“I know Kabega Park [police] were there but they [couple] said they will come back to open a case but never did,” Janse van Rensburg said.
Gerber said the incident occurred before staff arrived at the property and that it was the first incident of its kind since the trails’ inception about 18 years ago.
She said visitors were allowed to go out on the trails before the venue opened each day because it worked on an “honesty system” when it came to payment for entrance.
“Immediately after, we were alerted and contacted our security company, the police and the dog unit.
“Together with my son, Ian [Pearson], and [two] other staff members, they started combing the trails searching for the suspect ... we have four trails on the property and this incident took place along one of the longer trails.”
Gerber said she had since been in frequent contact with the couple.
The victim had received medical treatment for minor injuries and Norm-Hudlin had offered to arrange counselling for her.
“They said they would be back as they viewed the incident as an opportunistic crime,” Gerber said.
“The safety of our trail users remains our top priority and we will be engaging with Tac Net, which specialises in bush patrols, as to ways to heighten security.”
Asked about their existing security arrangements, Gerber said her son, who was the trail manager, and two other staff members spent most of the day walking and patrolling the trails on quad bikes
The facility also made use of a full farm security service.
Though patrols at the trails took place throughout the day, Gerber urged visitors to remain vigilant.
Norm-Hudlin posted a message on Facebook later on Tuesday to alert trail users to the attack.
Tac Net officer Naude van der Merwe, who responded to the call for assistance, said the couple had already left for the police station when he arrived.
“Speaking to the people at the scene, I was told the [attacker] stuffed his hand down the woman’s throat.
“I was told he was laughing while he was doing this and as he walked away, so I suspect something was mentally wrong with him,” he said.
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