Authorities are investigating two separate reports of weekend attacks on women in Lawrence.

In the latest incident, a Lawrence woman was knocked down, battered and groped by a man early Saturday in the north-central part of the city, Lawrence Police said.

The suspect, said to be in his 20s, ran away after a nearby resident stepped outside, apparently after hearing noise, Sgt. Mike Pattrick said. The incident occurred about 2 a.m. as the woman was walking.

The woman went to Lawrence Memorial Hospital to be treated for minor injuries, Pattrick said.

In the first reported incident, Kansas University police are seeking a man who groped a woman and tried to force her into a wooded area near the sports fields at 23rd and Iowa streets.

The attack occurred about 6:30 p.m. Friday after the 21-year-old accepted a car ride from the man in the area of Ninth Street and Emery Road, KU Lt. Schuyler Bailey said. The woman wanted to go to the Greyhound bus station, 2447 W. Sixth St., but ended up riding around town and making several stops with the man. She wasn’t being held against her will at that time.

The suspect eventually drove to the soccer fields and touched the woman several times and attempted to pull her into the woods, Bailey said. The woman bit the man and fled on foot, seeking help at Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical Station No. 4, 2819 Stonebarn Terrace.

The suspect was driving a white, mid-1990s Ford, possibly an Escort. It had a Florida license plate.

Anyone with information about the suspect is asked to call the KU Public Safety Office at 864-5900 or KU Crime Stoppers at 864-8888.