This story has been updated with additional information.

Prosecutors have dropped criminal charges against a man arrested last September on suspicion of raping a woman on the Fern Ridge Path, a multiuse trail in west Eugene.

Timothy Joel Colnar, 42, had pleaded not guilty to charges in connection with a rape reported Aug. 8, 2024.

He had been held in the Lane County Jail, but prosecutors on Aug. 12 filed a motion to dismiss the indictment against Colnar.

Authorities transferred Colnar from Lane County to the Lincoln County Jail on a warrant for fourth-degree assault and harassment charges, Lt. Josh McDowall with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday. Colnar is being held on $25,000 bail, with a court date set for Sept. 15.

“This is a case where additional investigation yielded substantial evidence that called into question Mr. Colnar’s involvement in the alleged crime,” Lane County District Attorney Christopher Parosa said in an email Friday, Aug. 22.

“While we believe the victim was the subject of a criminal attack, we are not comfortable, based on all known evidence, that Mr. Colnar had any role or responsibility in that attack,” Parosa said.

Melinda McLaughlin, a Eugene police spokesperson, declined to comment Tuesday.

Lane County Circuit Court Judge Jay McAlpin dismissed the case Aug. 13. KEZI first reported on the charges being dropped.