Police in B.C. are bolstering search efforts for a Penticton store owner after a woman was allegedly held hostage and sexually assaulted in front of her toddler.
An arrest warrant has been issued for 35-year-old David Wesley Bobbitt, who faces an attempted murder charge in connection with the incident.
"We've essentially blanketed the province with this individual's photograph and particulars," RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk told CTVNews.ca.
Bobbitt operates Dave's Second Hand store in downtown Penticton, where a woman was allegedly confined, beaten and sexually assaulted for several hours in front of her young son.
CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat reported Monday night that the woman had gone to the store to purchase a bed for her 22-month-old son. She was allegedly kept in the store, tied to a bed and repeatedly beaten and sexually assaulted over 15 hours.
Moskaluk said the woman's family members reported her missing at about 10:30 p.m. on Saturday after she failed to drop off her child as planned that afternoon.
The woman's family contacted police again at 3 a.m. Sunday after discovering her car in an area where she had told them she planned to shop.
"It's our understanding that they were rattling doors in the middle of the night and checking some of these locations," Moskaluk told The Canadian Press.
Shortly after, police then found the woman in the back of the second-hand store, bound and injured, with her son nearby.
Molgat reported that some of the woman's family members were upset at what they perceived to be a slow response from police to their requests for help. One unidentified male relative said police told the family not to search for the victim Saturday night pending a news conference the next morning.
The woman underwent surgery Sunday for what Moskaluk said were multiple lacerations to her skull. The 22-month-old child was unharmed.
"It's disgusting," the victim's friend, Crystal Silvester, told CTV. "I can't believe that somebody would actually be able to do that to a woman, let alone in front of her son."
Moskaluk told CTVNews.ca that a weapon was involved in the apparently random attack, but he wouldn't specify what kind.
The victim will recover from her physical injuries. Meanwhile, police spent much of Monday interviewing people who are familiar with the suspect.
Neighbour Scott Tidsbury told CTV that Bobbitt "was a pretty intense person" who was known to make threatening comments toward female customers of the store.
Raven Tenney said that last week, Bobbitt followed her around the store while she shopped with her two young children.
"I was starting to freak out because I have a five-year-old and a two-year-old and I felt something wasn't right," she said.
One of the biggest difficulties with the search, said Moskaluk, is that police aren't sure how Bobbitt might have fled. There is currently no vehicle tied to the investigation.
"At this present time we're not able to pinpoint his whereabouts," said Moskaluk.
Investigators are now hoping to speak to anyone who may have visited Dave's Second Hand store on Saturday.
Penticton RCMP also asks anyone who may know where Bobbitt is to contact them at 250-492-4300 or via Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
With files from The Canadian Press
