Merced Police searching for suspect who attacked and raped woman in her own home

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Merced Police are asking for help finding a suspect who attacked and raped a woman in her home.

Police say it all happened in the middle of the night.

"The suspect fled the residence, and she doesn't know who this person was," said Captain Bimley West with the Merced Police Department.

Officers responded to a home on 12th Place in south Merced last Wednesday for a report of a sex offense, but the attacker was gone when they arrived.

Police aren't releasing too many details at this time to protect the investigation, but Captain Bimley West says this case in particular is alarming.

"When we have an unknown, that's a needle in a haystack. We need to find this person before it happens again," West said.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact them directly, and avoid posting to social media for everyone, including the suspect, to see.

"If they know what's going on, they could elude us and get out of the area...that'll make other jurisdiction vulnerable to this happening again."

They're now urging other survivors to speak up and advise people to lock their own doors and windows before they head to bed.

Police say they have done a rape kit on the survivor, and are working with the Department of Justice to make an arrest and hopefully prevent this from happening to anyone else.