The Park City Police Department is investigating a claim that a voyeur was hiding inside a woman’s bathroom on Main Street in the middle of the week, a startling report that has so far stumped both the police and the owner of the building.
It is a highly unusual complaint to the police, and a high-ranking member of the Police Department said there has not been a pattern of similar cases reported thus far.
According to Phil Kirk, a Police Department captain, a woman went to the women’s restroom inside a building at 825 Main St., at the bottom of the Town Lift, at just before 1 a.m. on Wednesday. She told the police a man, described as being Asian, scooted underneath the bathroom stall. The woman screamed, Kirk said, and the man got up and ran out of the restroom. Police officers responded, but Kirk said they were unable to find the suspect.
The woman is from Park City, but Kirk did not provide details about her such as her age or what neighborhood she lives in.
“Hopefully it’s a one-time incident,” Kirk said.
He said he was unaware of similar complaints but said the Police Department is contacting other law-enforcement agencies to learn if there have been reports in those jurisdictions.
The suspect was clothed, the police were told. Kirk said the man is described as having a thick build and being between 30 and 40 years old. The police did not have other identifying features of the man. It was not immediately clear what charges the man could face if he is caught, Kirk said.
The bathroom is situated close to nightclubs, but it is in a common area of the building. Main Street by the middle of the week had become busier than it had been during the fall and early winter as the first significant wave of skiers and snowboarders arrived for the holidays.
Mike Sweeney, whose family owns the building at 825 Main St., said the case is the first of its kind that he is aware of since the building opened in 1998. He said the incident is “not acceptable.” Sweeney said he is considering installing security cameras in the hallways of the building, but he did not provide a timeline for the installation if it occurs. He had not been briefed about the details of the episode by midday Thursday.
“If an incident like that happened again, at least you could identify the people milling around in the hallway,” Sweeney said about the idea of installing cameras in the hallway.
The 825 Main St. building is especially popular with apres ski crowds who descend the Town Lift runs at Park City Mountain Resort and then cross the Town Bridge to end their ski day steps from the building. It is also buzzes during the Sundance Film Festival.
Anybody with information about the case may call the Police Department at 615-5500 or the department’s anonymous-tip line, 615-5847.