March 12, 2010| 7:06 pm
A 35-year-old woman escaped a would-be rapist Friday by jumping off a Malibu cliff and sliding down a 100-foot embankment, Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies said.
The woman had just finished jogging about noon above Point Dume State Beach when the assailant grabbed her from behind. She struggled with the man before breaking free and jumping over the beachfront cliff, deputies said.
The attacker -- described as a 35- to 40-year-old white or Latino man with no front teeth, about 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds -- did not follow her. But he did steal her white 2004 Toyota Land Cruiser from the vicinity of Cliffside Drive and Birdview Avenue at Point Dume, investigators said.
The woman was treated for cuts and bruises that she suffered while sliding down the cliff, deputies said.
--Bob Pool
