Breakheart patrons wary as search continues after attack

SAUGUS – The day after a 20-year-old lifeguard was assaulted at Breakheart Reservation, visitors to the 640-acre reservation on Wednesday were taking extra precautions and attendance was noticeably down on the first sunny day of the week.Meghan Malloy of Lynn was walking in Breakheart with her 23-month-old son Killian in a stroller but decided to leave after another visitor told her about Tuesday?s attack.?I?m trying to figure out how I?m going to get out of here safely,” Malloy said. “I know they said they have a police presence here. There were a couple of men around who looked like they were watching out.”Malloy added, “We usually feel safe” on the reservation, but that for the time being she?ll visit only if a friend comes along.The victim of Tuesday?s attack remained hospitalized at Massachusetts General Hospital on Wednesday with head and neck injuries, as authorities hoped to get more information from her about her assailant.The lifeguard reportedly went for a walk in the reservation when she was attacked at approximately 2 p.m. and knocked unconscious. About an hour after she was reported missing to State Police, the victim, shaken and with visible injuries, was discovered at 3:18 p.m. by a jogger who heard her cries for help.Few new details were released about the investigation on Wednesday.State Police Sgt. Byron Rizos said on Tuesday that a surveillance camera at nearby Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational School might have captured the attack and police planned to review the video.Kim Barrett, another visitor to Breakheart on Wednesday, said she and her mother felt safe having her German Shepherd Della with them. Barrett, of Reading, said she comes to Breakheart nearly every day to walk Della, and usually sees a lot more people on the reservation.?We thought about not coming today, but since we have (Della) and we?re not really going on any trails, we decided to come,” Barrett said. She said she was surprised to hear about the attack, “especially the time of day in happened.”Ryan McFarland was at Breakheart on Tuesday walking his Great Dane when the assault occurred. He said he helped lifeguards look for someone he thought was just a girl lost in the woods.?They were on megaphones and a couple of lifeguards were walking around so I just walked around with them for a little bit,” McFarland said on Wednesday. “I thought it was she just got lost. I didn?t really think anything of it ? but I came back up for the second time that day and I saw the state troopers and I realized it was something more serious.”Peabody resident Kayla Provencher, 21, was on the reservation with her dog Bruno on Wednesday.?I walk these paths and the deep trails all the time with (Bruno),” Provencher said. “I?m always alone and I usually don?t have anyone with me. To hear that she was alone when that happened, it makes me kind of think twice. I won?t come here alone now.”State Police spokesman Dave Procopio on Wednesday urged anyone with information on the assault to call the State Police tip line at 978-538-6009.SJ Port, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, said DCR staff and rangers are working with State Police on the investigation and said people should report anything suspicious.?DCR is concerned about the incident,” said Port in an email. “Our thoughts are with the lifeguard and those around her. If for any other reason a visitor feels uncomfortable or encounters an issue we urge the visitor to report any suspicious behavior or incident to the park rangers.”