UPDATE on Monday, September 22nd
BARBOURSVILLE, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- The Cabell County Sheriff's Department is requesting any business owner or home owner in the Pea Ridge Road area with surveillance video to check the tapes on September 16th for a white man riding a bicycle.

It's the latest request for public help in the investigation of the rape of a teenager last week in Barboursville.

Deputies say the suspect is a white male, in his 20's, medium slender build and short dirty blond hair. The suspect was seen riding a dark in color mountain bike. Deputies also say after the assault took place, the suspect took a brown coach purse with an AT&T Blackberry cell phone and a Green Dot prepaid credit card.

Updated Story from 6 p.m. Newscast

BARBOURSVILLE, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Police are looking for a man they believe threatened and raped a 17-year-old girl on her way Tuesday morning to a school bus stop.

Officers are looking for a man who they say is in his mid-20s, has blond hair, and had been wearing a black shirt, ball cap and khaki shorts when the incident occurred.

Nearby residents, including Christy Chapman, are extremely concerned about what happened. Chapman said she is keeping a close eye on her young daughter.

"I make sure I know where she's at and, if she's out of the yard, I'll look for her," Chapman said.

Police said the incident happened in the stairway of an apartment building along East Drive in the Pea Ridge area.

According to the police report, the man pulled the girl into a stairway where he grasped her from behind with his arm across her throat. The report states that he told her he would snap her neck if she moved. The man then stripped all of the girl's clothing and raped her.

Nancy Lewis' mother lives in an apartment beside the stairway where police say the rape occurred.

"It concerns me," Lewis said. "My mother's elderly. I don't let her take the garbage out now."

Neighbors say they believe the man lives in the neighborhood, which is even more reason to talk to their children.

"The only thing you can do is to teach them to take off running or get an adult," Chapman said.

Police said the victim went to her youth pastor for help, and he took her to the Cabell County Sheriff's field office to file the report. She then went to an area hospital for an examination.

Anyone with information that can help police find the suspect is asked to call 304-743-1594.

Original Story

BARBOURSVILLE, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- A teenage girl was raped Tuesday on her way to the bus stop.

It happened in the Pea Ridge area of Cabell County. Police say the girl was threatened and then raped in the stairway of an apartment building.

Police say the girl had been walking between buildings to meet a friend at the bus stop. When she got to East Drive, a man asked her for directions. The report states he pulled the girl into the stairway, threatened to kill her and then raped her.

The police report says the teen went to her youth pastor for help.

The suspect is described as a man in his twenties with blonde hair. He had on khaki shorts and a ball hat. He was last seen riding a bike.