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SANDY -- Sandy police are searching in the foothills around the Bell Canyon trail for a man who stabbed a hiker on the trail with a makeshift spear and then ran off.

Police say the suspect had what appeared to be a bamboo walking stick. He pulled off the top, exposing a metal rod with a fine tip, which he used like a spear.

"The spear, we're calling it, actually went through the top of his arm and came out the lower portion of his arm," said Sgt. Troy Arnold with the Sandy Police Department.

The 40-year-old victim was walking down the trail in Bell Canyon near 10200 South and Wasatch Boulevard around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

He told police he met the attacker, who was walking up the trail. They had a brief and friendly conversation, he said.

A few moments later, he noticed the suspect turned around and was following him. When the hiker asked the man what was going on, the suspect started talking incoherently and attacked.

The hiker said the man jabbed at him several times before stabbing him completely through the arm, then running off.

"It's an unnerving event, especially because he was just out recreating and was walking down the trail and was cordial and decent to the person," explains Arnold. "He just didn't understand why he would attack him unprovoked."

The victim ran down the trail and called 911 from his cell phone. Police were there when he reached the trailhead but were unable to capture the attacker.

"At this point we want to reassure people we are looking for the suspect," Arnold said. "It was a very random and unprovoked attack, and so we take it very seriously. We want to make sure whoever this person is, that we find them, locate them and keep that area safe so people can continue to recreate up there."

The victim was taken to Alta View hospital and was listed in fair condition.

The attacker is described as a white man in his 20s, approximately 6 feet tall with a thin build. He had short brown hair and was wearing light colored cargo pants, a white shirt and a brown hat.

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Story compiled with contributions from Sam Penrod and Nkoyo Iyamba.



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