UCSC police look for four people in connection to potentially bias-related incident

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION) UC Santa Cruz police have provided an update on what they believe could be a bias-related incident on the edge of campus, and police said they are now looking for three females and one male in connection to the incident.

The department said a witness told officers that the four people were in the area when a rope was left tied in a way that looks like a noose.

The witness said they had seen two of the females before near the Porter College bus stop and believed they were good friends, roommates or a couple. The witness told police that one of them had thin blonde hair with pink or purple mixed in. The other was also blonde.

All three females were described as having light-colored hair and being slight in stature, and the male had dark hair.

The incident happened in early July when the rope with a loop on one end was found hanging from a street sign near the campus entrance. The way the rope was tied has led police to consider it a potentially bias-related incident.

Nearly two weeks after the investigation began, UCSC NAACP issued a letter criticizing the university's response and calling for a full investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call UCSC police at 831-459-2231 ext. 1.