Approximate reconstructionReconstructed from the Brookings Register's and SDSU Collegian's reporting, both of which quote directly from the University Police crime alert email; the fully verified original email text was not independently located709 chars
On 10/14/2021 at approximately 4:45 a.m., an unidentified male entered a secure room in Caldwell Hall where two female residents were sleeping. Entry was made through an unlocked and unoccupied adjacent room. While in the room, one of the female residents was awakened by the individual after being touched, causing him to flee when she shined a light on him. The individual is described as a white male, approximately 5'8" to 5'10" with a stocky build, blonde hair, and was wearing a dark ball cap, grey sweatshirt and blue jeans. South Dakota State University issues crime alerts in accordance with the federal Jeanne Clery Act. Anyone with information is asked to contact University Police at 605-688-5117.
This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.
The entry method, through an unlocked, unoccupied adjacent room rather than forced entry, is a specific detail the alert included, one that shaped subsequent conversations among students about locking shared or adjoining doors
University Police classified the incident as both an on-campus burglary and a sex offense (fondling); this case uses 'sexual-offense' as its primary archive type given the unwanted touching that woke the resident
The suspect description leans on build, hair color and clothing rather than facial features, typical for an encounter that happened in a dark room before dawn
SDSU Police explicitly framed the alert around a 'potential ongoing threat' because the man's whereabouts remained unknown after he fled