A 25-year-old North Vancouver woman was beaten and sexually assaulted early Saturday morning after hailing what she believed to be a taxi cab, according to Vancouver police.

The victim flagged down what she believed to be a cab in the 100-block of Water Street near Abbott Street in Gastown at around 2:30 a.m., according to VPD Const. Brian Montague.

“She got inside and realized quite quickly that she wasn’t inside a cab,” he said.

The victim was then driven to an area in East Vancouver where she “severely beaten and sexually assaulted” before managing to escape her attacker, get help from the public, and called 911.

Police believe it was an isolated incident with no link to other sexual assaults.

“There was no indication that the van was disguised in any way to make people believe it was a cab,” Montague said. “It was strictly a misunderstanding, where someone wasn’t fully paying attention.”

The unidentified woman is reportedly “very traumatized” and is still working with investigators as they try to get more information about the incident.

The suspect is described as an Aboriginal man, approx. 35-39 years old and 5-foot-11 to 6-foot tall. He is “fat with a big belly,” about 230-250 pounds and a shaved head, said Montague.

The vehicle driven by the man is an older model dark minivan with sliding doors on both sides.

Anyone with information about this attack or who may know the identity of this suspect is asked to call the Vancouver Police Sex Crimes Unit at 604-717-0602 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.