Police are searching for a man who followed a female victim from a Montgomery Village bus stop and then raped her.
The victim, whose age has not been released, got off the Ride-On bus about 10:15 p.m. Saturday on the 19300 block of Watkins Mill Road, which houses Montgomery Village Middle School.
She noticed a male stranger following her from the bus stop and began to run, police say. The suspect followed and knocked her down, police say.
The suspect then dragged the victim into a grassy area near the woods, where he raped her, according to police.
The victim eventually got away from the rapist and returned home, police said. She went to a hospital for treatment and police were notified.
Police say the suspect is a male of a unknown race, but no other information is available. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Special Victims Investigations Division at 240-773-5400.
About one mile south on Watkins Mill Road in Gaitherburg, another victim was sexually assaulted in 2017. A woman waiting for a bus was dragged into a wooded area and raped, NBC4 reported. Police used DNA to make a composite rendering of the suspect, but no arrests were announced. Police have not confirmed whether the cases could be linked.