Owner flees after pit bulls maul woman in South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A woman required stitches after she was mauled by four pit bulls in a southeast South Dakota town and police believe the dogs’ owner fled with the animals to escape punishment.

Authorities say the 55-year-old victim suffered 17 bite wounds when the dogs attacked her Monday morning as she walked in Freeman, about 50 miles west of Sioux Falls. Police say she was treated at a hospital for serious injuries that required nine stitches.

The dogs were inside the owner’s house when police arrived. Freeman police Officer Jay Slevin says the owner refused to surrender the animals to him then escaped out the back door as Slevin awaited backup. Police believe he took the dogs to a friend’s house in Sioux Falls.