Police are searching for a man who sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl inside a Quayside apartment building elevator Saturday.

The incident occurred at around 1 a.m. in the 1100-block of Quayside Drive.

The female victim was opening the front lobby door to her apartment building when the suspect suddenly appeared from behind and brushed by her stating ‘‘excuse me’’ as he entered the building.

He then followed her into the lobby elevator, where the suspect forcefully held the victim and instructed her to be quiet while he touched her in the genital area through her clothing.

The girl started yelling for help and when the elevator door opened several floors later, she victim broke free. The girl then ran into the hallway, began knocking on apartment suite doors and yelling for help.

The suspect fled down a nearby stairwell just as a male tenant opened his suite door to check out the disturbance.

"The victim had no idea he was lurking in the dark outside the apartment," said Sgt. Gary Weishaar. "But she did the right thing pushing him off of her and yelling for help."

A female tenant phoned the New Westminster Police who responded with the police canine unit. The dog began tracking the suspect but lost the scent at one point.

The man is described as being native, 19 years of age, 5'’6" tall with a medium build, short black hair, clean shaven, wearing dark pants and a dark colored hoodie.

"I'm really confident we're going to catch this guy because we have such excellent video and photographs of him," said Weishaar.

"He'd be better off if he just turned himself in so we could get him some help."

Police are in contact with neighbouring police agencies looking to find links to related crimes.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Det. Tina Chan at 604-529-2455.

mmcquillan@newwestnewsleader.com