Tuesday update:
Anchorage police have issued an arrest warrant for Bukurim Miftari, 21, accusing him of attempted murder in the attack on a woman found critically injured Monday morning in Midtown.
"They were in a domestic type of relationship," said police department spokeswoman Anita Shell.
Miftari, previously described by police as a "person of interest" in the case, fled when police tried to contact him in South Anchorage on Monday night, Shell said. He was still on the run from police as of Tuesday morning and is considered armed and dangerous.
Miftari is also wanted for first-degree assault, kidnapping and tampering with evidence, Shell said.
Police are asking anyone who sees him to call 911.
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Monday story:
A 30-year-old Anchorage woman is being treated for life-threatening injuries after an attack that left her unconscious in a Midtown ditch early Monday morning.
Kristen Sarah Reid was expected to undergo surgery at a local hospital as Anchorage detectives chased various leads throughout the day, said homicide Sgt. Slawomir Markiewicz.
By Monday night, police said they were hunting a "person of interest" in the case: 21-year-old Bukurim Miftari. Miftari ran from police when they tried to contact him in the area of Old Seward Highway and Grange Street, and is considered armed and dangerous, according to police spokeswoman Anita Shell.
Police are asking anyone who sees him to call 911.
The investigation began at 5:47 a.m., when someone called to report a suspicious, dark-blue Chevy Tahoe stopped on Fairbanks Street. The passer-by thought it was strange to see the SUV, a window partially rolled down, parked in the middle of the road, Shell said.
Officers arrived to find the vehicle's interior "covered" with blood - a sign Reid was likely injured inside the Chevy, Shell said. Police spotted Reid nearby.
The investigation temporarily closed Fairbanks Street north of International Airport Road as police gathered evidence. On one side of the street is a shallow ditch, thick with wet grass. On the other is an office building and parking lot.
Police declined to say exactly where, and in what position, Reid was found.
There's no question someone attacked her, Markiewicz said. Whether she was placed in the ditch or moved there under her own power is under investigation, he said.
Police also refused to talk about the nature of Reid's injuries, citing the ongoing investigation.
"We are following up leads, contacting her friends, family. People that know her," Markiewicz said. He said Reid has children but he did not know how many.
Reid filed a restraining order against her husband, Sean Reid, in August 2010, court records show. The next year, federal prosecutors charged him with possession of 28 grams of crack cocaine, according to the charges. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison under a plea agreement in November.
Sean Reid remains in prison and detectives "are not aware of any connection" between Reid and the attack on his wife, Markiewicz said.
It's unclear how long Reid lay injured before a passerby called 911 early Monday morning.
"We contacted witnesses (who) saw the vehicle there earlier," Markiewicz said.
Detectives do not know a motive or whether Reid knew her attacker, Markiewicz said.
No suspect was in custody Monday night, he said.
Police have not said what led investigators to seek out Miftari and have not said if they believe he was responsible for the attack or simply has information about the assault.
By KYLE HOPKINS
Anchorage Daily News