York Regional Police have released a video of a suspect wanted in connection with the assault of a woman who was "forcefully dragged" in Markham on Wednesday night.

The alleged incident happened in the area of McCowan Road and Steeles Avenue East.

In the video released Friday, a man is seen walking on an alleyway before turning onto a sidewalk. The footage jumps two minutes forward and shows the man jogging back into the alleyway.

According to police, a woman was walking through an alleyway from McCowan Road towards Woodhall Road between 8 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. when a male suspect allegedly grabbed her and "forcefully dragged" her between two houses.

Police said the suspect might have been forced to retreat after motion-sensor lights between the homes got activated. They added that a person was also walking a dog at the time, which may have also scared the suspect.

On Friday, police urged the suspect to contact legal counsel and surrender.

He is described as five-foot-ten with a medium build. He was last seen wearing a dark-coloured coat, hat, gloves, boots and light-coloured pants.

"We haven't found the suspect yet. We do, however, have some leads," Sgt. Clint Whitney said.

"We have this video.This video has some very good footage of the suspect that we're looking for. And we're hoping that people will look at this, recognize this person and call us, give us some information."

Police are also looking for the person walking the dog who may have seen the assault.

Officers also set up a command post in the area on Thursday as they canvassed for witnesses and video.

Anyone with information is asked to call the York Regional Police Special Victims Unit – Sexual Assault Section at 1-866-876-5423 ext. 7071 or contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS or www.1800222tips.com.