Port Macquarie is rocked after teenage girl is dragged onto sand dunes and raped by a stranger – as major manhunt is launched

A teenage girl was dragged into sand dunes and raped by a stranger when she was on her way to watch the Matildas last week, leaving a quiet beachside town in shock.

The 18-year-old girl was walking to Wednesday’s semi-final match against England in Port Macquarie on NSW’s mid north coast about 8.30pm when the horror incident unfolded.

She was approached by a man, believed to be in his 30s and of Middle Eastern or Mediterranean appearance, when she walked along Stewart Street, which runs alongside Town Beach. 

He dragged her onto the sand dunes where he carried out the sexual attack before fleeing on a bike, according to the Daily Telegraph. 

NSW Police Detective Inspector Peter O’Reilly said locals in the area at the time rushed to help the woman who promptly called triple-0.

‘The woman was on her way to meet some friends in the area when she was approached by the male,’ Det Insp O’Reilly said.

‘I won’t go into the specifics of the offence, but what I can say is that the woman was approached by the male and forced into the sand dunes.

‘We are suggesting at this time it was an unprovoked attack by the male.

Det Insp O’Reilly encouraged locals in the seaside community with phone video, dashcam or CCTV to come forward.

‘We are aware that there were a lot of people in the area at the time for that live broadcast (of the World Cup), so we would like to think there are people in the community who might have information – it might be phone footage, it might be dashcam footage, but it would really assist our investigators,’ he said. 

Det Insp O’Reilly would not comment on whether police believed the man was a local.

He is described as being of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern appearance, aged in his early 30s, around 175cm to 178cm tall, with a dark complexion, short black hair and a long beard that reaches his chest. 

He was last seen wearing a black jumper and jeans and was believed to have been riding a push bike. 

‘All avenues of investigation are open to us and we’ve been doing a lot of work since this incident was reported to police,’ he said.

‘We’ve been working with a lot of members of the community and we’ve canvassed a lot of areas around Port Macquarie.

‘This is a horrific incident, so she (the victim) has been really well supported by family and friends, and services in the community.’

Det Insp O’Reilly said police had increased their patrols along the streets near the beach since the attack.