NT Police have taken five days to alert the public about a man who is on the run after indecently assaulting a woman at Casuarina Coastal Reserve, while a friend of the victim has questioned why the police took so long to warn the public.

NT Police media manager Margaret McKeown issued a press release on Tuesday morning, which was not a warning to the public, but rather a call for information about the assault, which did not provide a description of the alleged perpetrator who is still at large.

Ms McKeown said that a woman in her 50s was walking along a bush track that leads through to the mangrove boardwalk at Casuarina Coastal Reserve about 6:30pm on Thursday, when she was allegedly indecently assaulted by an unknown man.

“During the assault the woman received minor injuries to her arms, knees and stomach before the unknown man fled the scene. The woman was assisted by a passer-by who contacted police,” she said.

A friend of the woman, who contacted the NT Independent yesterday when the attack had not been made public, alleged her friend was chased down from behind by the man and thrown to the ground. She alleged her friend managed to escape and run off before the man caught her again and pushed her to the ground before sitting on top of her.

“She was quite distraught. She definitely would have been sexually assaulted if not killed,” she said.

The source said the woman only escaped from the man when a woman in the car park intervened and the man ran off.

“I am disgusted that this was not reported sooner,” she said.

“Public safety is absolutely paramount. We don’t need to know the nitty gritty details, but we do need to be aware.

“This is our safety. This is about community safety. We need to know what is happening.

“Police put out a lot information about stolen cars. But this is about people.”

If you have any information you can call police on 131 444.