Skip to main content

DNA evidence helps police create sketch of Gaithersburg bus stop rape suspect

WASHINGTON — Montgomery County police used DNA evidence to create a sketch of a suspect still at large in a rape near a Montgomery County bus stop last month.

The sketch created using DNA evidence. Click on image to see larger size. (Courtesy Montgomery County police)

A woman told Montgomery County police she was waiting for a bus at the stop located on Watkins Mill Road at Travis Lane in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on the morning of Oct. 6 when a man approached her, pulled her toward a wooded area and raped her.

The suspect fled the area after the crime, but police used DNA evidence obtained during the investigation to show what the suspect may look like.

The suspect is described as black man in his 20s. He wore a dark-colored, checkered shirt or jacket at the time of the assault.

DNA phenotyping — the process of predicting physical appearance and ancestry from unidentified DNA evidence — allowed officials to show with more details what the man may look like.

Detectives ask anyone who may recognize the suspect to call the Special Victims Investigations Division at 240-773-5050.

Montgomery Co. schools superintendent to formally propose staffing cuts Thursday

Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Thomas Taylor is expected to announce Thursday his recommendations for staffing cuts to close an anticipated $36 million budget gap in proposed district spending for the coming fiscal year. In a straw vote Friday, the County Council voted 9-2 to approve a $7.9 billion operating budget for the county for fiscal year 2027. The spending plan includes roughly $3.7 billion for MCPS, which represents an additional $143 million in funding, but is $36 million less than what the district requested. The straw vote is not binding but is expected to stand when the council formally votes to adopt a budget Thursday. Fiscal year 2027 begins July 1.
Read Next Story