Update 9/4: Similar reports have been made in other areas of Ames.

A female student reported a suspicious incident involving four men in a dark green sedan amid reports of men attempting to grab women in Ames, according to an Iowa State Police Department press release.

The student reported hearing “get her” as she walked along the sidewalk east of Wallace Road at around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Four men in a dark green, four-door sedan approached her, one she described as wearing a white t-shirt. 

The woman pulled out her cell phone and heard one of the men say, “She’s calling the cops.” The men got back into the car and drove northbound on Wallace. 

She described the driver as having shaved or close cropped hair on the sides, but “fluffy” on the top. No other description of the driver or occupants is available.

“At the time [the student] thought ‘maybe this was a prank,’ until she saw that somebody else had reported a similar incident to Ames Police,” Iowa State Police Chief Michael Newton said. “Then she became concerned and reached out to us to let us know of her experience.”

The vice president of programming and risk of the Delta Zeta sorority, Hannah Kuettner, sent an email out to all Delta Zeta members stating multiple women in other houses reported a group of five men in a blue SUV trying to grab women. 

“Please whatever you do this weekend, do not walk alone. I will come walk with you,” Kuttner wrote in the email. “Wherever you are, I will come walk with you. They are targeting females alone.”

The press releases said the police want to remind everyone to report any suspicious behavior adding “no person is to blame for the action of others.”

“We don’t know exactly what these individuals were doing. But it is concerning to us,” Newton said.

The ISU PD asks people to take an active role in their safety including avoiding walking alone; utilizing SafeRide, which is available from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., keeping doors locked and staying alert and planning ahead.