ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County deputies are searching for a man they said tried to kidnap a woman Monday morning outside her apartment.
Patricia Marshall-Riley, 56, has several cuts on her arm and a bandage on her shoulder, but said she feels lucky to be alive.
Listen: Victim describes attack to WFTV
Marshall-Riley said she was taking out the trash when a man came up from behind at her home at Knightsbridge at Stoneybrook. Marshall-Riley said she thinks her attacker got into the complex on foot because people have to go through two gates to get in by car.
"I was really horrified because the way he was pulling at me and the way he looked and smelled and his level of strength surprised me. So, I was really scared," Marshall-Riley said.
The victim said she was taking her trash to a dumpster around 2 a.m. because it wasn't picked up. She said she was walking home with her dog when the man approached her from behind and tried to drag her into a wooded area.
"I just started fighting, and I did wear him out because he was just panting and breathing and walking backwards," Marshall-Riley said.
The victim and her son, Omari Workman, said they believe the man is homeless or has mental health problems. They said the man didn't have front teeth, appeared dirty and smelled like he hadn't showered.
"When I got on scene, like my mother said, I was quite furious, quite furious that he got away; that this happened to her," Workman said.
Marshall-Riley said she made it back to her apartment and called 911.
Reports showed police launched a helicopter and K-9 search, but the victim said she doesn't know which way the man ran.
The man is described as white with an average build, long hair and no front teeth.
Deputies said they believe this is an isolated incident.
Contact Michael Lopardi for more on this story.
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