Police looking for rapist who claimed he was selling magazines | Crime

VANCOUVER, Wash. - Police say a woman was raped at knifepoint in her own home by a man who claimed to be a magazine salesman.

The crime happened around 3 p.m. on Oct. 25 at a home near Stapleton Road and Fourth Plain.

According to police, a woman answered her door and a man with a clipboard in his hand told her he was selling magazine subscriptions. But when she declined, he produced a knife, forced his way in and then sexually assaulted her. Police said the woman was so scared that she passed out and the man got away.

It is unclear whether the man was actually a magazine salesman who committed the crime while working or whether he was pretending to be one just to get access to the victim. The woman did not know the man.

Police want to track down the suspect soon because there are transient door-to-door sales groups that come into a community and then leave. And of course police want to warn people to be wary when someone knocks on your door.

"There are some risks when you open your door to somebody," said Sgt. Scott Creager, a detective with the Vancouver Police Department. "You don't know who it is on the other side."

Suspect Description

• Dark-skinned black male
• Between 30 and 35 years old
• About 6 feet tall
• Weighs about 180 pounds
• Short afro
• Unshaven with a slight beard and mustache
• Was wearing a red jacket with a hood and had a thin gold hoop earring on his right ear
• Has a thin vertical scar on the left side of his neck

Weapon Description

• Dagger-style
• Brown handle
• 12-inch blade that was slightly curved at the tip

Tips

If you have purchased magazines from a door-to-door sales person during the month of October, you're asked to call Detective Darren McShea at (360) 487-7431.