Cape Breton senior warns others after 'disturbing' encounter on park trail

Cape Breton Regional Police are investigating and a Sydney River, N.S., woman is warning others after a man exposed himself on a Cape Breton walking trail. 

Lynn Brewer, 71, said she was headed to the trail at Petersfield Park in the Westmount neighbourhood of Sydney around 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 2 when she first spotted a man in all-black clothing and wearing what looked like a skullcap. 

"I got a strange feeling from him," said Brewer, who thought the man was oddly dressed for a warm summer day.

When she later stopped at a trail opening along Sydney harbour so her small dog could dip its feet in the water, she said the man suddenly appeared behind her and exposed himself.

"I was really angry and I turned back and I said I can't effing believe this or I can't believe what I'm seeing kind of thing. You know, there's children in this park. And he goes, 'Oh, sorry.' And I just walked away."

Brewer began telling others on the trail that a man had flashed her. She said at one point, someone confronted the man, who then ran toward a black pickup truck.

"I feel like that's kind of like my park, you know? I'm not scared, but I'm leery. It was very disturbing. It has affected me, but the anger is still the main thing that I'm feeling about it."

Brewer said she created a Facebook post about the incident to get the message out to others. That's when she learned other women in the community had reported similar interactions with a person they believed was the same man. 

Regional police are now asking for public assistance to identify the suspect in the park incident and another indecent act at a Sydney store on July 31.

They say officers searched surrounding areas after both encounters were reported but did not locate a suspect. 

On Thursday, police released photographs of a man as part of their investigation.

He is described as being in his late 20s to early 30s, approximately five feet 10 inches tall and weighing 190 pounds.

Police say he was wearing black clothing and sunglasses and was spotted driving a black Dodge Ram truck with a decorative CAT licence plate. 

Anyone with information is asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers.