Deputies arrest man accused of attacking hiker in Santa Clarita
Sheriff’s deputies arrested a 29-year-old man accused of attacking a woman while she hiked along a trail Tuesday morning in Santa Clarita, authorities said.
Two cyclists, including a retired police officer, spotted the man standing over the 70-year-old woman near Auto Center Drive and Creekside Road, where he had approached her and strangled her until she lost consciousness, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The cyclists detained the man — identified as Colton Ford — until authorities arrived. The woman was taken to a hospital, where she was listed in fair condition.
It’s unclear what led up to and motivated the attack.
Ford, identified by officials as a transient, was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and is being held on $2-million bail.
Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call sheriff’s detectives at (661) 255-1121.
alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com
Twitter: @AleneTchek
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