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Wyoming law prevents the release of the reporting parties name in the case.
The report indicated the suspect was driving a red van and traveling door to door. Investigators are seeking witnesses with any information about the case or other …
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The Big Horn County Sheriff's office is investigating a sexual assault reported last week, but Sheriff Ken Blackburn is cautioning residents not to panic on the basis of rumors and misinformation being circulated in text messages.Blackburn's office received a report last week that a vacuum cleaner salesman stopped at a home in north Big Horn County on Wednesday, Nov. 18, and sexually assaulted a subject at the home. The case is being actively investigated, and several factors related to the case could mitigate the severity of the incident, according to Blackburn.
Wyoming law prevents the release of the reporting parties name in the case.
The report indicated the suspect was driving a red van and traveling door to door. Investigators are seeking witnesses with any information about the case or other suspicious activities involving door-to-door salesman, and are attempting to contact such salesmen working in the area.
On Monday, Blackburn's office sent out two reverse-911 calls concerning the incident to north Big Horn County residents. The first message alerted residents to the incident and urged caution in allowing strangers into their homes. The second call went out later Monday after text messages — many of which contained erroneous or exaggerated information — led to numerous calls that overwhelmed the sheriff's office. Blackburn said some of the text messages contain authentic information and some don't, and the second call urged residents to make sure that the information they received by text message was from a reliable source.
Rumors claiming that the suspect was chased by law enforcement personnel and was carrying knives were not true, Blackburn said. In addition, he said the suspect is believed to have left the area.
Residents in south Big Horn County residents received a similar reverse-911 call Tuesday morning.
As part of the investigation, Blackburn is asking any door-to-door salesmen working in the area to notify the Big Horn County Sheriff's office about their presence.
No new information was available at press time Wednesday.
