Second Boyne river attack on same day investigated

A man who attacked a woman jogger, pulling her into the Boyne river in Drogheda last week, may have also tried to attack a second woman on the same morning, say gardaí.

Supt Gerry Smith said gardaí want to hear from the other woman who is believed to be Polish and called Margot.

Supt Smith said that as the jogger made her way back to Drogheda after the attack she met the Polish woman and told her what happened. The Polish woman said the same man had tried to attack her.

The jogger was followed last Thursday at about 9am, in heavy fog, as she ran through Drogheda town and out along the Ramparts riverside walk that links Drogheda with Oldbridge.

When she became concerned about being followed and turned back towards Drogheda, the man attacked her, refused to let go and pulled her into the river where he tried to remove her clothes.

Supt Smith said it is thought the man escaped by bicycle. He said the Garda investigation has involved looking at all registered sex offenders and seeing if there is a connection between this latest attack and a sex assault on a woman in Carpenterstown Park, Dublin 15, at about 7.30am on Saturday October 18th.

“Gardaí are exploring a number of lines of enquiry in an effort to identify this man and we have looked back at all similar incidents,” he said.