MADISON, Wis. -- University of Wisconsin-Madison officials said that the campus is on high alert on Monday and they are launching a public awareness campaign after a string of sexual assaults in recent weeks.

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On Monday, Madison police said that they believe two of the attacks on young women who were walking alone are related. Both victims were UW students who were abducted and then assaulted.

Campus officials and police said that they're warning young women to not walk alone at night in the downtown area.

The latest incident occurred at about 3 a.m. on Saturday when a 20-year-old woman 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 attack occurred at about 8 p.m., on Nov. 29 when an 18-year-old woman was walking in the 1500 block Observatory Drive. She was forced into a dark-colored car, taken into an unknown location and sexually assaulted.

Both victims were threatened with a weapon and dropped off downtown after the attack.

UW officials said that they're worried students might be too wrapped up in late semester studies to take the crimes seriously but they warn that they should. UW police Sgt. Michael Newton said that he's urging students to take precautions.

"The important things to remember are to walk in groups and to always stay in well-lit, visible areas," Newton said. "If you feel something out of the ordinary, you feel something suspicious, call the police. We'd rather have people calls us. We'll check it out."

On Monday afternoon, police 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, WISC-TV reported.

The UW dean of students said that her office also knows of a third attempted sexual assault in which a woman allegedly fought off her attacker, but she doesn't know if it's linked to the other two.

Meanwhile, Madison police investigators said that they haven't linked the two attacks with another that occurred on the city's East Side last week. That incident happened last Tuesday, Dec. 5, when a woman was beaten and violently assaulted in her own home on Jana Lane by an intruder, WISC-TV reported. Police said that tips that they are receiving have been helpful in their investigation.

Authorities said that anyone with information about these attacks should call CrimeStoppoers at 608-266-6014.

Officials said that for students on campus in need of a night-time ride or escort, they can call for at 608-262-5008.