Teen Says Man Tried To Grab Her In South Bay Tunnel: Police

PALO ALTO, CA — A man tried to grab a teenage girl's buttocks while making sexual comments as she walked through a Palo Alto tunnel, prompting a police investigation, authorities said.

The incident occurred at about 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday in the Homer Tunnel, according to the Palo Alto Police Department. Dispatchers received a report at about 1:56 p.m.

The teen told officers that an unknown man approached her inside the tunnel, made sexually suggestive comments and attempted to grab her. She moved away and tried to escape, but the man continued following her and making sexual comments, police said.

After the girl exited the tunnel, the man rode east on Homer Avenue on a red bicycle.

Police described the suspect as a Black man in his 40s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall with a thin build. He was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, black pants and carrying a black backpack.

Detectives are investigating.