A 19-year-old kinesiology sophomore fought back from an alleged attack at knifepoint on the Red Cedar River trail Monday night, MSU police said.

Christina Sterner said a man covered her mouth, held a knife to her back, and told her if she screamed or made any suspicious noises he would kill her. MSU police Sgt. Florene McGlothian-Taylor would not confirm the victim's name, but Sterner's account of the armed-robbery attempt matched MSU police reports.

The suspect is described as a 21-year-old male of unknown race and medium build. He was about 5 feet 10 inches tall and 175 pounds, and wore a dark hooded sweatshirt and jeans, McGlothian-Taylor said. The sweatshirt hood was pulled over his head, and he might have been wearing a dark jacket over the sweatshirt.

The man demanded anything the victim had of value, McGlothian-Taylor said.

Sterner said she emptied her pockets, revealing a cell phone, student ID and 27 cents, and he pushed the knife through her sweatshirt.

"See what this can do to your clothes? Now imagine what it could do to your body," Sterner said the man told her.

The incident took place on the north bank of the river just after sunset, McGlothian-Taylor said. The victim was walking from a friend's house to her dorm room, and was just south of the Administration Building.

Upon discovering that she had nothing to give, Sterner said the suspect told her, "I want something of value," and led her into the wooded area near the Wells Hall bridge.

"I decided it was now or never," Sterner said.

She said she elbowed the man in his stomach, stomped on his right foot, then turned around and punched him in the face.

She then ran into Wells Hall, where she locked herself in a bathroom stall and stayed there for 10 minutes, before walking to her dorm room.

Once there, she called a relative, then the police.

"I didn't know what else to do," Sterner said. "I was so in shock and so scared."

An MSU K-9 unit searched the area, but was unable to locate evidence, McGlothian-Taylor said.

Sterner said a day after she reported the crime, a detective called her into the station to repeat her story, and then questioned its authenticity.

McGlothian-Taylor said it's the department's policy to reinterview victims to make sure they have information correct.

"It's not that we disbelieve her," McGlothian-Taylor said. "If we didn't believe her, we wouldn't be putting out information to local media.

"We're taking this very seriously. We want students to be safe."

Sterner said another detective called her Wednesday, apologized, and assigned her case to a different detective.

McGlothian-Taylor could not be reached late Wednesday for confirmation.

The last incident near the Red Cedar River involved a male student who was robbed at knifepoint as he walked along the river trail near Shaw Hall on Oct. 31, 2003.

Raymond Young, a 21-year-old from Pontiac, was arrested in December for the robbery, McGlothian-Taylor said.

Young will have his preliminary exam at 9 a.m. Friday in front of Judge Richard Ball at East Lansing's 54-B District Court.

To report any information on Monday's attempted robbery, call the MSU police department at (517) 355-2222.