UC Davis police investigate rape on campus bike path. Suspect description released

UC Davis police are investigating a rape that occurred on a bike path on campus, the department said in an alert to students.

Officers were notified of the sexual assault when the Santa Rosa Police Department contacted them Wednesday, saying a possible crime had occurred Sept. 28.

After a preliminary investigation, officers learned that a female victim was walking on the bike path between Kleiber Hall Drive and Sprocket Bikeway at 7:30 p.m. when a suspect grabbed her from behind and pulled her into the bushes near Mann Laboratory.

The woman was “thrown to the ground where she was sexually assaulted by the suspect,” the Police Department said in a Clery Notice, a federally mandated notification when certain crimes happen on university campuses.

The suspect fled on foot in an unknown direction, authorities said.

Officers said they were investigating the crime as a rape and are looking for suspects. Anyone with information is asked to call the UC Davis Police Department at 530-754-2677.

The suspect is described as a 5-foot-11 man with short, dark hair, police said. He is believed to have been wearing a hoodie and dark-colored pants on the night of the incident.