Hot on the Trail

Samantha Schink's classmates helped rescue her just in time.

The Attack

In the summertime, Samantha Schink rode her purple bike all over her hometown of Nampa, Idaho. She pedaled to summer-school classes and the rec center, where she swam and lifted weights. A petite five-foot-three high school senior, Sammy never worried about safety in the quiet streets of her rural community. One warm evening last August, as she rode on the sidewalk along South Powerline Road, she heard a car engine slowing behind her. Before she could turn to look, the car jumped the curb and rammed into her bike, bending the rear tire and sending her sprawling onto the grass. A burly man with a brown buzz cut hopped out of the gray Dodge Stratus and ran up to her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Sammy got to her feet. "I'm fine." But when she tried to get back on her bike, the stranger grabbed her and pushed her to the ground, she later testified. He covered her mouth with his hand, she said, and started tearing at her white tank top and sports bra. Sammy kicked and clawed, but she was no match for the stranger, who was a powerfully built five feet, nine inches and 195 pounds. Her screams vanished into the night.

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