MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) - Police are on the lookout for a wounded robbery suspect who allegedly tried to rob a woman on the beach with a knife.
But things didn't go according to plan.
Birgit Knoop, 52, was walking her boyfriend's pit bull, Naja, on the beach around 76th Avenue North Tuesday night, when she says a stocky, white man in a ski mask approached her with a knife.
"My boyfriend's dog likes to go in the dunes to do her business, and all of a sudden [the suspect] jumped up and he had a dark mask," Knoop explained. "He had a knife and he threatened me and I was so scared."
The incident report from Myrtle Beach Police says the man held the knife to her throat and demanded her cell phone and any other valuables.
But when he pulled out his weapon, Knoop says Naja came to her aid.
"I said [to the suspect], I don't have anything," Knoop said. "And then this dog, Naja, got so agitated and she barked and then she attacked."
Knoop says the man ran away down the beach after Naja sunk her teeth into his leg. The suspect was not able to steal anything from Knoop, but more importantly, Knoop believes Naja saved her life.
"What I experienced that night, if it wasn't for [Naja] I would've been dead I think," Knoop stressed.
And while Knoop says she is thanking her lucky stars Naja was with her, she worries about others who may not have a stout pit bull like Naja to protect them
"I want every woman who walks out there in the dark at night to watch out," Knoop said.
The suspect is described to stand around 5 feet 7 inches tall. Hospitals are on alert for any possible suspect complaining of dog bite. Anyone with information about this crime should call Myrtle Beach Police.
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