A man sexually assaulted a 76-year-old woman who was out for a walk around St. Paul’s Lake Phalen last week, and police said Monday they are looking for the suspect.

Officers were called Saturday morning and told the woman had been attacked about 8:40 a.m. Thursday. She said she’d been along a path by a waterfall when a man came up behind her, wrapped his right hand around her waist and his left hand over her mouth, said Steve Linders, a St. Paul police spokesman.

The man picked up the woman and carried her into a wooded area, where both fell to the ground. The woman fought back until the man stopped her by hitting her in the arm, Linders said.

The man attempted but failed to remove the woman’s pants. He reached under her pants and molested her, Linders said. Then the man removed the woman’s hat, stopped touching her and walked away.

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2 shot in Minneapolis had worked for candidate “It’s possible he didn’t realize she was a senior citizen when he attacked her, but he did once he pulled off the hat-mask and thankfully he then left her alone,” Linders said.

The suspect is described as a black man, 5 feet 8 to 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a medium build, perhaps in his mid-40s. He was wearing a jacket, pants and hat that were all black.

Police ask anyone with information to call them at 651-266-5685.

Linders said he’s not aware of other similar sexual assaults reported in the area. Police have increased patrols around Lake Phalen.