DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — Police are searching for two men who reportedly tried to kidnap a 20-year-old Miami University student, prompting a crime alert across campus.

The woman told police she was walking on South Beech Street between West High and West Walnut streets around 4 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, when the men approached her from behind and attempted to pull her into a vehicle, according to Oxford police Sgt. Jim Squance.

She said she was able to escape uninjured and described one of the suspects as about 20 years old, sporting a dark ball cap, a short-sleeve shirt and jeans.

The woman described the vehicle as a white work van or panel van with a sliding door.

The issue spurred the university to issue a campus crime alert. Claire Wagner, Miami's director of news and public information, said the school takes many opportunities to offer students safety tips, reminding them to never walk alone and to lock their doors and first floor windows when they are asleep or not at home.

Squance said he did not know why the student was walking home at such an hour. He said Oxford police "preach day-in and day-out about practicing common sense safety."

"One of the things we tell all our community members is don't do something that is going to set yourself up to be a victim," he said. "And of course walking home alone at 4 in the morning is probably not a good idea."

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the Oxford Police Department at (513) 524-5240 or its criminal investigations division at (513) 524-5248. Anonymous calls may be made to Crime Stoppers at (513) 352-3040.

Abduction attempts are "not a common occurrence" in Oxford, Squance said. The last one occurred in January 2006 as two Miami students were helping a 19-year-old student back to his dormitory shortly before 3 a.m. when three suspects pulled up in a van and offered to give him a ride.

Ryan Coli never made it back to his dorm that day. Instead, he was beaten, robbed and left stranded on Nine Mile Road in Union County, Ind. – about 15 miles from campus.

All three suspects were later apprehended, charged and sentenced to prison.