A morning shower on Feb. 6 turned into a frightening experience for an unidentified Iowa Stater.

The student, a female resident of fifth-floor Lorch-Russell House in Friley Hall, was taking a shower at about 7:30 a.m. when she “realized someone was looking around the curtain into the shower stall,” said Loras Jaeger, director of the Department of Public Safety.

“As she opened the curtain, she saw a male walking toward the door,” he said. “Another woman was just walking up to the restroom door as the male was exiting, and she got a fairly good look at him.”

Jaeger described the perpetrator as a 40-year-old male between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing about 150 pounds.

“He had frizzy brown hair pushed back and was wearing a brown bomber jacket with wool lining around the collar, blue jeans and tennis shoes,” Jaeger said.

After leaving the restroom, the man “exited through the door across from the restroom,” Jaeger said, and has not been seen since. “We could not locate him, but we’re still working on it,” he said.

Jaeger said he did not know why the women’s bathroom door, which is locked on many co-ed dorm floors, was left open.

“It’s a house decision [to lock the doors],” he said.

“The bathrooms were not locked until after he came in,” said Orlando Crenshaw, resident assistant of Lorch-Russell. It was a floor decision to go ahead and lock them up afterwards,” he said.

Posted at the Depot Post Office in Friley is a photocopy of an artist’s rendering of the man’s face, a description of the man and a short account of the Feb. 6 incident.

Jeff Hewitt, a sophomore in agricultural business and a Depot employee, said he has heard a few comments about the “shower peeker,” but he said no one has come to the post office counter with information while he was on duty.

Other than the posting in the Depot, the coordinator of residence life for the Union Drive Association said she has not had much involvement with the incident.

“The RA’s are aware of what went on so they can provide some support to students and be aware of what’s going on,” said Mimi Benjamin.

“I’ve talked to the women on my floor and I have encouraged everyone to look out and be extra careful,” Crenshaw said.

He said the girl who had her shower interrupted is “doing fine. She was just surprised, and she was a little apprehensive when it first happened.”

Crenshaw said the initial furor over the intruder has quieted somewhat.

“Ever since the sketch came out, the situation’s calmed down,” he said. “DPS helped out a lot in the maintaining of our safety.”