Austin police are investigating the third attack on a female runner on popular hike-and-bike trails near downtown since late August.

Interim Police Chief Brian Manley said the latest attack happened on Wednesday morning near the 1700 block of South Lakeshore Drive

Manley said the attacker tried to pull the woman into the bushes as she ran alone on the trail.

The woman described the attacker as man about 5-foot-11 with no facial hair and in his 40s. She told police that he had short dark and spoke to her in Spanish.

In response to the recent attacks, Austin police will begin sending night shift officers on foot, on bike and on mounted patrols to the trail system beginning around 4 a.m. to clear the trails and identify any suspicious activity in the area around Lady Bird Lake and Zilker Park.

]]