Missoula police are seeking a suspect accused of raping a woman in downtown Missoula early Saturday morning. 

Public Information Officer Travis Welsh says the incident was reported just before 5 a.m.

"We received a report from a woman that she had been raped about an hour earlier at 4 a.m. by an unknown male in the 300 block of South Sixth Street East." Welsh said. "The encounter had begun in an alley where she was out smoking a cigarette when the male approached her and struck up a conversation. They went inside a residence there where she reported that the rape occurred."

Welsh said the suspect has been identified, but is still at large.

"The male has since been identified by detectives, and that investigation is ongoing as they attempt to locate him and conduct interviews," Welsh said.

Welsh said the unidentified male is under investigation for the crime of sexual intercourse without consent, an offense that carries a possible maximum sentence of life in prison.

Missoula Police Public Information Officer Travis Welsh

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