A suspect was arrested early Thursday near Columbus when a passerby came upon him in a truck with a woman who had been assaulted with a hammer, authorities said.

The 25-year-old woman, who is from Forest Lake, was hospitalized with wounds to her head, face and hands, according to the Anoka County Sheriff's Office. She is expected to survive.

Deputies were called to the 7200 block of Camp Three Road after a witness reported having stopped to check on a vehicle in the ditch. The witness said that a man who emerged from the vehicle had assaulted a female passenger with a hammer, and that she was covered in blood.

The suspect fled on foot into nearby woods. Deputies searched the woods with help from Lino Lakes police and a police dog and the State Patrol. After several hours, they found the suspect.

The woman was rushed to Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

The suspect, who was not dressed for the cold weather, was medically evaluated for frostbite and exposure at a local hospital, where he was cleared and released. He is in custody at the Anoka County Jail but has not been charged.

The Sheriff's Office said that the woman was not a close acquaintance of the suspect and that they are not in any type of relationship. She lived in a home where the suspect had been a renter, but they did not live in the same part of the home.

Karen Zamora