SEATTLE (AP) - A police official says DNA evidence processed at the Washington state crime lab has cleared a man who was arrested in connection with a March 9 sexual assault of a woman at a North Bend restaurant.
The Seattle Times reports (https://is.gd/BLQLVk ) that the 41-year-old North Bend man was arrested Tuesday and held overnight. On Wednesday, police and prosecutors said the man was being released without charges.
North Bend-Snoqualmie Police Chief Steve McCulley said the man is no longer a suspect and police will resume their investigation.
McCulley says the man became a suspect based on evidence found inside the restaurant, information from the victim and a belief that the attacker had targeted or known either the woman or the restaurant.
The woman was leaving work at the restaurant when she was forced back inside by a man who stabbed her, bound her wrists and feet with duct tape and sexually assaulted her.
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Information from: The Seattle Times, https://www.seattletimes.com
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