Philadelphia police say they are frustrated that assaults along a popular trail are being reported on social media, but not to them.
Some runners on the Schuylkill River Trail have posted online that they have been harassed and even sexually assaulted.
The discussion took off earlier this week after a woman on Facebook said she watched a woman being attacked by a group of kids on bikes. Other runners then commented that they experienced the same thing.
The Schuylkill River Development Corporation, the non-profit that oversees the trail, posted a statement on their website asking people to reach out to police.
“Help catch these folks. And the way you do that is call 911 while it’s happening, either the victim or the witnesses, get identification, what they look like, what they’re wearing, what their bikes look like, these are kids on bikes, and which direction they went so that the police when they respond have a chance of catching them,” Joseph Syrnick of the SRDC told NBC10.
For their part, Philadelphia police said they are increasing their presence on the trail.
Earlier this month, USA Today named the Schuylkill River Trail the nation's best urban trail.
