DATE: Sunday, November 9, 1997              TAG: 9711090070

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: OREGON INLET                      LENGTH:   37 lines

WOMAN ATTACKED, LEFT NEAR RAMP AT BODIE ISLAND

A 35-year-old woman was sexually assaulted and dumped from a van near a windswept Bodie Island boat ramp before dawn Saturday, authorities said.

The woman managed to make her way across N.C. Highway 12 to a pay phone at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, where she called for help.

The National Park Service and the Dare County Sheriff's Office are investigating the attack, which happened sometime between 1:45 and 3:30 a.m.

Law enforcement officials were releasing few details Saturday afternoon.

Bodie Island Ranger Mike Anderson of the National Park Service said the woman apparently left a Nags Head restaurant about 1:45 a.m. She was picked up by someone in a dark blue van and taken south to Bodie Island Boat Ramp No. 4. Authorities interviewed the woman Saturday but gathered few details. They hope to interview her again today.

``We have no indication that she was forced into the van,'' Anderson said. ``She was dumped from the van at ramp 4. She followed the lights from the fishing center and called 911.''

Anderson said the woman was helped at the center by a newspaper carrier who was filling distribution boxes.

She was taken to Outer Banks Medical Center by Dare County Emergency Medical Services, treated and released. Nags Head Fire and Rescue also responded to the call at 3:26 a.m., but left quickly.

``We didn't even get out of the truck,'' said Nags Head Fire and Rescue Capt. John Kenny. ``She got upset when she saw men at the scene, so we didn't hang around. There were women on the EMS crew, so they handled it.''

Authorities combed the beach Saturday morning for articles of her clothing, as well as her identification. It is believed the woman is new to the area.

``At this point, we don't know if she was down visiting or whether she had relocated to the area,'' Anderson said. KEYWORDS: SEX CRIME

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