PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. — The search is on for several young men after a woman said she was violently attacked while walking on a golf cart path in Peachtree City.
It’s been three weeks since Martin Saunders said his wife was attacked by a group of young men near their home in the Cedarcroft subdivision.
Saunders said they’d been at the hospital due to some health issues he was experiencing. He said he told his wife to go back to their home and take care of the dogs.
“She got home between 6 and 7 and took the dogs out,” Saunders explained.
He said the next thing he knew his wife got a hold of him saying she was just attacked.
Saunders said his wife was walking their two dogs along a golf cart path near their home in the subdivision. He said she noticed a group of young men, she believed to be older teenagers coming toward her on the path at a pretty fast speed. He said she noticed two of them were hanging off the side of the golf cart.
As they got closer, he said she gestured at them to slow down.
“She's a New Yorker, and if you're plummeting down a golf cart trail and you’re teenagers and you’re trying to walk your dogs and you're scared they’re going to hit your dogs, she’s not scared of yelling out, slow down,” Saunders said.
He said as they passed his wife, “One of them grabbed her by the hair and they dragged her for a bit.”
Saunders said his wife’s jeans were ripped, she was bleeding and she also hurt her hands. He said after she was on the ground, face down, she recalled at least one feeling on her body.
“One of them touched her inappropriately all over. And then, the driver apparently yelled out, 'Just shoot her,'” Saunders said.
He said his wife managed to make it back to their home on her own after rounding up her two dogs. Saunders said she did call the police and she filed a report the following day.
Saunders said as of Tuesday night, they haven't received any updates from the police regarding the investigation.
“The police haven't been able to uncover anything yet. It's almost like it didn't happen. And it's very traumatizing for my wife,” he explained.
It wasn’t until just a few days ago anyone besides Saunders and his wife, besides their closest friends, knew about the attack. He said a friend posted it on her Nextdoor App, which quickly started making its rounds on social media.
In fact so much so, on Monday – 26 days after the alleged attack, Peachtree City Police posted the following statement on their Facebook page:
We are aware of recent social media posts regarding the report of an altercation on the multi-use path near Wal-Mart on October 1st.
The incident is still being investigated by our agency. We have not received any other similar reports and there is no indication this is a trend of any kind.
While we encourage everyone to be vigilant about their personal safety and surroundings at all times, there is no specific indication of an ongoing threat associated with this incident.
We will update with further information as it becomes available.
Saunders said it was more than just an altercation, as police described. He said his wife is now going to counseling due to the trauma she experienced during the alleged attack.
Saunders said it’s something neither he nor his wife would have ever expected to happen in Peachtree City.
“It's very shocking because Peachtree City is not normally like this,” he said.
They’re now hoping since the story is out, maybe a neighbor may have seen something or have evidence on their home surveillance that can help police in their investigation.
11Alive reached out to Peachtree City Police for an update on the investigation.
“We are hoping to have more answers by end of this week,” the police department said.