Assault victim recovering, memory not clear
By Kathryn Reed
The South Lake Tahoe woman who was beaten by an unknown assailant continues to recover from her injuries.
The victim, who is in her 30s and whose name is not being published, was hit in the head several times, sustained defensive wounds and a severe concussion.
El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies were called to Barton Memorial Hospital on Oct. 8 because the woman told hospital staff she had been assaulted near Meyers. Upon further questioning by deputies the woman said it was closer to Woodfords where a man posing as a cop pulled her over and assaulted her. That is when the investigation was turned over to Alpine County Sheriff’s Department.
Now both departments are handling the investigation.
As is common with a trauma like this, the brain can become scattered and memories jumbled. It is normal with head injuries for the sequence of events to be remembered in a random manner. That is what is now happening to the victim. The victim was in Alpine County that day, but whether that is where the crime occurred is not definite.
“(An assault like this) absolutely will cause memory issues and for the brain to be so fuzzy you cannot remember exactly what happened,” El Dorado County sheriff’s Deputy Damian Frisby told Lake Tahoe News.
Frisby said that while the circumstances of the assault are not definitive, the fact remains the woman was assaulted and the assailant remains unknown, and therefore at-large.
“In no way has the victim provided us with false information,” Frisby said.
He added that the scariest part is that a woman was beaten up for unknown reasons by someone who remains a mystery.
The investigation is ongoing and the woman is cooperating.
Thank you for updating us with further information.
Other news sites are reporting incorrectly about this story today.
Thanks TahoeMtn; you’re correct, other sites are describing it as a false report. Could be, but for everyone else, the fact remains that “red-light” felonies are not unheard of and it would be tremendously productive if law enforcement agencies would address the issue of how a citizen, perhaps more women than men although the issue is certainly gender non-specific, should deal with being stopped with single red lights (legal in California) in a situation where they feel unsafe. It happens, occasionally making a victim of the individual being stopped, and law enforcement needs to provide guidelines for folks in that situation.
Thanks Kae. The woman was definitely badly hurt. I hope she recovers soon.
The victim is a strong woman, not given to flights of fancy or fabrication. She has had a severe head injury, and as Deputy Frisby said, jumbled memory is common.
I pray for her recovery — and that the POS who did this to her is caught. I know I will call 911 if anything other than a clearly marked law enforcement vehicle tried to pull me over — and will tell my kids to do the same.
finally a report that states the truth, that’s all I have to say about this!
The area from Hwy 89 and Han street in Meyers, all the way to the valley near Fredericksburg Rd. and Highway 88, is a cellphone DEAD ZONE.
The remote and rural geography of the area, coupled with California’s restrictive laws regarding its citizens possessing the means of self defense, make that area ripe for violent crimes.
No phone, No help, no means of personal defense. A women or a family for that matter, does not stand a chance.
CHP presence is really good there though.
Officer Frisby is awesome and knows what he’s talking about. As far as the victim is concerned, She can have my number any day and my mace. Love this community!
Not meaning do move the topic, but MountainDude reminded me: anyone notice that, in California, if you see a sign that says “Report Drunk Drivers, Call 911” it’s almost invariably in a cellular dead zone? Of course, if the cell phone services, operating under federal license, were required to provide service, even in the non-profitable areas, some genius here, and on other sites, would call it “socialism.” As would his or her congressman (if they have the misfortune to live in a Republican district), as soon as they became aware of the horrible travesty of suggesting that government should actually demand service from service providers.