Mounties have released a surveillance camera image and composite sketches of a suspect wanted in connection with the sexual assaults of two girls in Surrey.

The first incident occurred on Oct. 10, when an 11-year-old girl was groped on 65 Avenue near 188 Street near Clayton Heights Secondary School in Cloverdale.

The victim was walking down the street when a stranger grabbed her buttocks. When she reacted, the suspect apologized and retreated on foot.

On Tuesday, a 15-year-old girl was grabbed from behind in the 18800 block of 69 Avenue—less than a kilometre away from the scene of the first incident.

The older girl was able to free herself and run home. Police were unable to locate the suspect who fled the scene on foot.

“It’s very important that we take this person into custody and hold him accountable,” RCMP Cpl. Scotty Schumann said Thursday. “We’re hoping that if anyone recognizes any of those composite sketches or the pictures, to contact investigators right away.”

While their descriptions weren’t identical, police say both victims said the assailant was a Caucasian man in his 30s with brown hair, thick eyebrows, full lips, long ears and facial hair. He is between 5-10 and 6 feet tall, weighs about 180 pounds and might wear glasses.

“At this point, it appears to be just one person,” Schumann said. “There are some differences between the composite sketches, but there is also some similarity.”

With no arrests, however, the images aren’t yet enough to prevent another assault from happening.

“Escalation is always a problem and is always possible,” said Rob Gordon, a criminologist at Simon Fraser University. “That adds a little bit of urgency to the situation.”

Gordon said the RCMP is likely in the process of looking into whether anyone living in the area has a criminal past.

The school district has notified more than half a dozen schools in the area, advising students to avoid travelling alone.

Parents say they’re making sure their children are following that advice until the assailant is arrested.

“You keep an eye out,” said one woman. “You watch for people in the area that you don’t know or that don’t look like they don’t belong in the area.”

In the meantime, police are urging members of this usually quiet Surrey community to do what they can to prevent anyone else from becoming a victim.

“People should be on the lookout for anyone suspicious,” Schumann said. “The unfortunate fact in today’s world is that predators can be anywhere at any time...so we’re alerting the public and hoping that they can help us identify this person.”

Anyone with more information on either incident or the suspect’s identity or whereabouts is asked to contact the RCMP at 604-599-0502 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS).

With files from CTV Vancouver’s Breanna Karstens-Smith