The man who sexually assaulted a 23-year-old jogger on Monday night may have been lurking in the Ross Creek Reserve for up to two hours before the attack.
Police revealed yesterday that a female witness had come forward after being approached by a man wearing similar clothing two hours before the young woman was knockedto the ground, bound andsexually assaulted.
''She [the woman who came forward] was on the track, saw an individual. That individual got to her quite quickly. She was somewhat startled, and then the dog that was with her came out from under the undergrowth and he carried on,'' Detective Senior Sergeant Kallum Croudis said.
Police released an identikit image of the man who approached the woman.
Det Snr Sgt Croudis said it was not certain the man was the same person who attacked the 23-year-old on Monday, but police wanted to speak to him.
''[The man in the identikit was in] similar clothing, in the vicinity, acted in a way that you would perceive he may have been going to challenge the woman, and that's as far as we would go,'' he said.
The woman who was attacked ran to a Cannington Rd address and banged on the door for help after being tied up and sexually assaulted in the reserve about 9.15pm on Monday. She had been knocked to the ground in a ''blitz-type'' attack.
Police feared the man could strike again and warned people to be vigilant until he was in custody.
''We urge anyone who sees any suspicious behaviour to contact police immediately,'' Det Snr Sgt Croudis said.
It was revealed yesterday the victim was bound with black cable ties and the offender, who the victim described as a tall skinny European wearing black shoes, a black T-shirt and a pair of black ''Skins'' compression wear, also had a balaclava covering his face.
The public were asked to contact police if they saw a discarded balaclava in the wider area.
The cable ties were with ESR and undergoing forensic examination.
Police had spoken to a number of people with a history of similar offending and had begun ruling them out. However, Det Snr Sgt Croudis would not comment further on that work.
The victim was still coming to terms with the ''hugely traumatic experience'', he said.
''She's struggling; she's having some bad days but we are trying to provide as much support as we can.
''She's being asked to assist and I'm hoping that's assisting her in some small way to deal with it.''
The attacker might return to the area and the public should be vigilant.
Any suspicious vehicles should also be reported.
''There is no vehicle identified. However, police remain open-minded about the offender having used one.''
The nature of the attack suggested some planning had gone into it, Det Snr Sgt Croudis said.
''The act itself is in a place where one would expect there would be some preplanning - potentially the identification of a place where you could secrete yourself, so you could attack in the manner that occurred.''
Anyone with information should contact Dunedin police on 471-4800 or provide it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555-111. Suspicious activity should be reported immediately on 111.
