Pebble Beach authorities looking for man who allegedly tied up woman to tree at gunpoint

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. -- A woman in her 40s reported being tied to a tree at gunpoint in the Pebble Beach area of Monterey County on Wednesday before being later freed by passersby, according to a press release from the Monterey County Sheriff's Office.

The woman told sheriff's deputies that she was walking on a trail at 7:30 a.m. in a wooded area between Haul Road and State Highway 68 when she noticed a man following her.

The man allegedly approached her with a gun and led her to a tree, where he allegedly tied her up and then left without injuring, assaulting or robbing her, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The woman was there for about two hours before someone walking on the trail noticed her. Another person then passed by and the two untied her and called authorities.

The Sheriff's Office described the suspect as a Hispanic man in his 30s wearing a green hat and grey sweater. He had a tattoo on the right side of his neck with a word beginning with the letter "z."

A search of the area by sheriff's deputies, a CAL FIRE drone team, and security personnel from Pebble Beach Resorts, which is about 2 miles south of the location, was unsuccessful.

False reports of an active shooter circulated online after the incident, leading staff at the nearby Stevenson School, a private school with grades from preschool through 12th grade, to place the campus on lockdown.

The Pebble Beach Company, which owns Pebble Beach Resorts, also issued a shelter-in-place order at its nearby maintenance yard, but the Sheriff's Office said there was never any active shooter and there was never a report of shots fired in connection with the incident.

The Sheriff's Office asked for help identifying a potential witness, a woman dressed in black who was walking a large, black dog, so she can be interviewed.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Monterey County Sheriff's Office at (831) 755-5111.