MADISON, Wis. -- Madison police are investigating three sexual assaults that have occurred near the University of Wisconsin campus in recent weeks, and investigators now believe two of them are related.

The latest incident occurred on Saturday morning when a female University of Wisconsin student was apparently abducted on the 500 block of North Carroll Street. She was taken to another location, where she was sexually assaulted and then released, WISC-TV reported.

Authorities said that a similar incident occurred on Nov. 29 when an 18-year-old woman was abducted and sexually assaulted while walking on Observatory Drive.

Police on Monday released a description of the attacker in both cases. The victims said that their attacker was a black man who is between 5 feet 7 inches and 5 feet 11 inches tall. He is described as being in his mid-20s with a chunky build. He has a thin mustache, a shaved head and was least seen wearing a dark puffy coat with a hood. They said that he also smelled of cigarette and marijuana smoke.

Investigators are still looking into a third attack, which occurred last Tuesday. In that incident, a woman was violently assaulted in her own home on Jana Lane by an intruder, WISC-TV reported.

These incidents are raising concerns on the UW-Madison campus.

Tiffany Iliadis, a UW junior and Carol Street resident, said that she is concerned.

"I don't even want to go the library at 8 p.m., you know, it starts getting dark in the winter at 4 p.m. and I'm afraid to come home after dark," Iliadis said.

Emily Underwood, a UW freshman whose sorority is near the site of one of the assaults, said that she was taken off-guard by the attacks.

"It's weird (because) I've never felt unsafe on the campus yet," she said. "But now, there's so much happening in such a short time it's like, 'Oh my God, we need to do something about it.'"

Authorities said that they continue to investigate all three cases.