Woman Rowing Perimeter of Lake Michigan Sexually Assaulted

Skooter reporting 07/27/12

A cancer fundraiser said she would not be dissuaded from her aim of rowing completely around the bounds of Lake Michigan subsequent to a sexual assault against her this week.

Jennifer Gibbons, 27, has 1,500 miles of rowing around the perimeter of Lake Michigan by herself since early June to raise funds and awareness for her cancer survivor charity, Recovery on Water.

As Gibbons set to start rowing in the early hours of Sunday morning heading for Beaver Island near Michigan's Northern Peninsula, a man came aboard her rowboat, entered the cabin where she was and attacked her and sexually assaulted her, according to Chicago Tribune and her website, Row 4 Row.

Michigan State Police speculated that the man may have traveled considerable distance to commit the crime. The man may have followed the blog Gibbons was posting to keep informed readers on her journey. The suspected attacker is still on the loose, and police have released a detailed sketch and description of the man's vehicle that was seen in the ark after the attack, a bright yellow Jeep Wrangler with a smiley face. The suspect was described in his 30s, about 5’8” to six feet in height, unshaven and light eyes, police said.

Gibbons, who had been rowing up to 30 miles a day on the solo journey, wrote in a blog post Tuesday that she would not give up.

The only thing that will change about her trip, Gibbons said, is the time spent alone in the lake. She will be escorted by Michigan State Police as she continues part of her journey through the isolated Michigan area on bicycle, and then finishes the trek in the water, rowing again.

Jennifer Gibbons is a former University of Michigan rower and rowing coach had the ambition to become the first person to row alone around the border of the lake, using a custom-built rowboat named "Liv" that successfully brought rower Paul Ridley across the Atlantic Ocean in 2009.