Woman jogging in park is injured while fighting off attacker, NC sheriff says

A jogger suffered cuts and bruises as she fought off an attacker in Forsyth County’s largest park, according to investigators in North Carolina.

It happened about 1 p.m. Tuesday in the 2-square-mile Tanglewood Park in Clemmons, and the attacker remains at large, the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office says.

“A female victim reported that she was jogging on a hiking trail near the dog park and overflow parking lot when an unknown white male surprised and attacked her,” the sheriff’s office reported in a June 30 Facebook post.

“The victim fought off her attacker and escaped, exiting the woods where a witness called 911. The victim was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.”

Some of the cuts on her body were serious enough to require stitches, county officials said at a news conference.

The attacker is described as: white and bald, with a graying beard, and he wore a red shirt and shorts. “The suspect has multiple tattoos including a noticeable cross tattoo. He also has ear piercings, but no earrings,” county officials said.

Tanglewood Park covers 1,100 acres, and attracts about 500,000 people annually to its gardens, golf courses, horse stables and stocked lakes, county officials said.

The incident happened the same day two women reported being attacked by an armed man while hiking on the Bicentennial Greenway in High Point, which is about 30 miles northeast of Tanglewood Park. A bystander intervened, resulting in the man fleeing, officials said.

Investigators have determined the two attacks are unrelated, due to vastly different descriptions of the suspects, according to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.

Clemmons is about a 75-mile drive northeast from uptown Charlotte.

This story was originally published July 2, 2026 at 10:49 AM with the headline "Woman jogging in park is injured while fighting off attacker, NC sheriff says."