ANCHORAGE – Women often are told that the greatest potential for their being raped comes from men they know or at least have met.

But that was not the case this week for a 23-year-old Anchorage woman, who was attacked on a public sidewalk by a stranger.

It was about 1 a.m. Tuesday when the rape occurred below Government Hill, near the A-C couplet bridge.

Police said the victim was walking down the sidewalk toward the bridge, when a man on a bicycle stopped and attacked her, dragged her into the woods and sexually assaulted her. She managed to get away and flag down a passing motorist.

"Actually cases of this nature are quite rare for us,” said police Sergeant Kenneth McCoy. “The majority of the sexual assaults we investigate involve people who know each other, whether family members or friends or acquaintances. The attacker in this case was a stranger."

Police said the woman was treated and released from a local hospital.

The attacker fled on foot, leaving behind the green mountain bike he had been riding.

Canine units searched for him in the woods and in the process discovered physical evidence. Police also are hopeful that they have recovered his DNA.

"At this point, we're asking for the public's help for witnesses who may have seen something that took place in the area," McCoy said.

It was an unusual crime for a generally quiet neighborhood. "Usually vehicles don't speed through the neighborhood,” said Richard Nunes, a seven-year resident. “We have four kids. We've outgrown the house, but we chose not to move because we absolutely love the neighborhood."

An expert on rape said there's not much a woman can do to avoid being ambushed by a stranger.

"There are several risk reduction types of things that people can do, but it's not going to necessarily prevent a sexual assault. You know, the old adage of carrying mace, or things along those lines – I don't know that there is a way necessarily to protect yourself from someone who targets you and is determined,” said Keeley Olson, program director at Standing Together Against Rape

The specifics of the crime were unusual, but no less harmful for that.

The victim describes her attacker as an Alaska Native, in his late 20s, about 5’9”, average build, black wavy hair, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans.