DE PERE, Wis. (NBC 26) — Police say a woman was assaulted along the East River Trail in De Pere. She and her baby were found there on Tuesday afternoon.
"It's crazy that something like this would happen here," Jenna Bachar said.
And living just a few blocks away from the incident, Bachar says it feels too close to home.
"Absolutely, it's frightening as a woman, as a mother," she said. "I have children."
Residents next to the East River Trail are in consensus. They all say they could never imagine an assault taking place right in their own neighborhood.
"I all the time take my little one out and we walk down the path right around the same time that it happened," Bachar said. "Around 11, 11:30."
Peter Larscheid has taken the path for over a decade.
"I live right by the trail," he said. "I've never seen or heard of anything like this before."
The longtime De Pere resident says walkers can't always see what's coming ahead amid wooded conditions on the East River Trail.
"A lot of times, there are bikers that come racing by you and you don't know they're coming up on you and all those little things," he said.
If needed, neighbors like Larscheid plan to ask the city for extra lighting or a camera.
"I'm sure a lot of people aren't gonna feel safe on the trail right now," he said. "Especially with what little news has been reported on it."
The community aims to come together, even if it means creating a neighborhood watch team.
"Everyone else is gonna be more aware of what's going on now," Larscheid said. "So I think everything will work out."
NBC 26 will have the latest updates on the assault as police undergo further investigation.
