Photo by Scott Ableman

Police are searching for a man who they say attempted to sexually assault a woman on the Key Bridge early Sunday morning.

The incident took place around 2:30 a.m. as the woman walked along the bridge, according to a release from the Arlington County Police Department. After passing the suspect, who was walking in the opposite direction, the man “grabbed her from behind and pulled her off the sidewalk” toward a grassy area by the George Washington Memorial Parkway. Police say that the suspect covered the woman’s mouth while trying to place his hands under her shorts. The victim was able to break free, and the suspect ran away toward D.C.

Police describe the suspect as a white male in his late 20s to early 30s, about 5’8” to 5’10,” and having a medium build and dirty blond hair. At the time of the incident, the suspect was clean shaven and wearing a dark T-shirt with tan shorts or possibly pants.

Police are “diligently working the investigation,” Robert Icolari of ACPD told DCist. He said that officials will submit any evidence collected to a crime lab “with the hopes of developing additional leads.”

Last week, a man was robbed near the George Washington Memorial Parkway and forced to swim across the Potomac River. Officers detained two suspects, but police later released them without charges “as they could not be positively identified as the attackers.”