Ashland assault attempts prompt warning

The second report in the past three days of an attempted sexual assault was turned over Friday to detectives at the Ashland Police Department.

An Ashland woman told police Friday morning that two men had grabbed her and tried to remove her clothing as she jogged past them at about 6:30 p.m. Jan. 31, on the sidewalk near the intersection of Iowa and California streets.

Friday's report follows an attempted sexual assault Wednesday evening in south Ashland in which one man pulled a woman into some bushes and tried to remove her clothing.

Police said the two attacks don't seem to be related.

According to police, the men in the Jan. 31 incident ran off in an unknown direction after a person nearby saw the woman struggling and began yelling at the men, Ashland police Detective Sgt. Tighe O'Meara said.

The two suspects in the Jan. 31 attack were described by the victim as white men, about 6 feet tall, possibly in their mid-20s. She couldn't provide a description of what they were wearing that night.

"I don't think that there is any significant threat to the community at large," O'Meara said, but police are reminding people who are walking and jogging to exercise caution after dark.

"It's the same tips as always," O'Meara said. "Walk in pairs, carry a flashlight if you are not going to be in a well-lit area, and carry a cellphone."

All digital cellphones, even if they aren't activated with a service provider, can call 9-1-1, O'Meara said.

Wednesday's assault occurred at about 10:15 p.m. near where Clover Lane and Ashland Street intersect, about 100 yards east of exit 14 on Interstate 5.

That woman was able to struggle free from a man who pulled her into a thicket of bushes behind the bench she was sitting on, O'Meara said.

The woman described the male suspect in Wednesday's assault as white with a slightly dark complexion, about 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, with a heavy build, dark eyes and a goatee, police said. The suspect was wearing a black hoodie, white T-shirt and a beanie hat with an emblem on it, and possibly a necklace, police said.

O'Meara said he isn't sure why the latest report came in more than a week after the incident.

"It's not something we question, why they didn't call the police immediately," he said. "We understand that victims process their attacks in different ways, and on different timelines. ... We're going to take things at the victim's pace, like we do with all of these types of cases."

O'Meara said detectives recovered potential evidence from the scene of Wednesday's assault. They are asking anyone with information about either incident to call the Ashland Police Department at 541-482-5211 or use the anonymous tip line at 541-552-2333.