Woman reports being grabbed on Hilton Head bike path

A woman walking on a Hilton Head Island path Friday called deputies and said she had been grabbed by a man she did not know.

The woman said she was walking on Jarvis Creek Path near William Hilton Parkway and Wilborn Road around noon when someone came up behind her and put a hand over her mouth, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

She thought it might have been one of her friends playing a joke but instead turned to see a Hispanic man she did not recognize, the report said.

The woman elbowed the man to break free and started screaming for help.

She told deputies the man motioned for her to be quiet, and she ran away to call 9-1-1.

The suspect was described to be in his 20s, wearing a long-sleeved shirt and riding a red bicycle. The man did not touch the woman innapropriately or try to steal anything she carried, the report said.

A witness in the area at the time said she saw a man matching that description riding a bicycle shortly before she came into contact with the victim, who appeared to be in distress.

Deputies also detained a man who matched the victim’s description. The victim told deputies it was not the suspect, and the man was allowed to leave, the report said.

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 1:59 PM with the headline "Woman reports being grabbed on Hilton Head bike path."