Maple Grove police search for man who attacked woman in Elm Creek Park Reserve

Police in Maple Grove, Minnesota, are looking for a suspect after a woman says she was assaulted at the Elm Creek Park Reserve on Sunday morning.

Officers were called to the 4,900-acre park around 8:30 a.m. after the woman reported that a man she didn't know forced her to the ground, then held a shirt over her mouth before running away, police say.

The suspect is described as a "heavy-set" man in his 30s who was wearing bright blue shorts and no shirt, and may have been carrying a gray shirt.

What's left behind for many, including Sarah Wernette, is uncertainty.

"It's just kind of that feeling in your gut of like, why does this have to be a thing in our world? And also, that kind of sadly familiar thought or feeling of like, this is the world we live in and you have to be aware of that," Wernette said.

Police say they are adding "additional patrols" in the area as they continue the investigation.

Anyone with information on this attack is asked to call 911 or 952-258-5321.

In January 2025, a woman reported an attempted sexual assault on Medicine Lake Regional Trail in Maple Grove. A 32-year-old man was charged in May 2025 in connection with the incident and pleaded guilty this past February. He's serving a four-year prison sentence, court records show.