A 32-year-old Vancouver woman who encountered a naked man on a Burnaby parkway "touching himself" last week believes it was the same man who allegedly flashed a different woman in the city in February.
The woman, who did not want to be named, said she had just left her sister’s house at about 9 p.m. on Sept. 17 and was walking on the BC Parkway from Rumble Street to the Edmonds SkyTrain station.
“Usually it’s busy, but there was nobody,” she said. “I was kind of trying to be very aware because it’s dimly lit there. I basically spotted someone in the corner of my eye and turned, and there was a man who was naked, completely naked, and then he was touching himself.”
The woman said she yelled “What the f**k!” at the man twice and told him she was calling police.
As she walked on briskly toward the SkyTrain station, she said the man put on clothes and ran off.
“It traumatized me more that I was by myself,” the woman said. “I felt like I was in immediate danger because I’m a female; I’m very short, small.”
When she looked online later, she said she got chills when she saw a police sketch of a suspect reportedly involved in a similar incident on Feb. 20 at around 6:30 p.m. in the 7300 block of Market Crossing.
That suspect exposed himself to a woman and then drove off in a dark-coloured four-door sedan, according to Burnaby RCMP.
“It was kind of chilling seeing the photo because that’s what I would describe him as too,” the woman in the most recent incident said.
She said she has warned her sister not to walk in the area anymore and wants people to be aware.
Police responded to the parkway last Thursday, but officers were unable to locate the suspect after an “extensive search,” according to Burnaby RCMP.
Police have also canvassed the area for CCTV footage.
The suspect has been described as a white man between 30 and 40 years old with a slim building, according to police.
“The victim stated that, after the suspect exposed himself to her, the suspect put on a dark blue shirt and khaki shorts,” Burnaby RCMP said.
Anyone with information that could help police in this investigation is asked to contact Burnaby RCMP at 604-646-9999 and quote file number 20-37770. To remain anonymous, contact Crimestoppers at 1800-222-TIPS.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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