An attempted abduction of a 14-year-old girl at a Bensalem mall Dec. 31 may be connected to another failed abduction of a 19-year-old woman that occurred at the Nittany Mall Dec. 11, police said.

"If they're not related, it's a hell of a coincidence," State College Det. Chris Weaver said. "We're treating it as if they're connected."

In both cases, the victim was grabbed in a mall parking lot by a man fitting a similar description to the State College incident, but both times, the victime was able to get away, police said.

In the Bensalem mall incident, police said that the victim was attacked outside the Neshaminy Mall, which is located outside of Philadelphia.

Weaver said the assailant might continue to attempt abductions despite past failures. He cited an unrelated case that occurred in Tyrone, where he said a man tried two failed abductions in the past few weeks.

"That depends on how motivated or how disturbed the person is," he said.

Weaver said he is currently working with the Bensalem Township police, who have informed him that they have grainy video footage of the incident taken from a surveillance camera.

Weaver said he plans to show the footage to the State College victim for possible identification, despite its poor quality.

The State College victim identified the man as in his 50s or 60s, about 6 feet tall, with a medium build, a pronounced stomach, a gray beard and glasses.

This description is what Weaver said is consistent with that of the Bensalem victim's attacker.

The State College victim also said the assailant spoke with a foreign accent, possibly Middle Eastern, and attempted to push her toward the open side-door of a tan, late-model minivan.

The Bensalem victim told police the man did not speak during the attack, and no description of a vehicle was given, Weaver said.

Whereas the State College incident occurred at about 5:35 p.m., Weaver said the attack in Bensalem took place around noon.

Police have no suspects and are unsure as to where the man might live but were able to provide a good description of the assailant to the public in State College, he said.

"Since we didn't get any tips, you start thinking it's from outside the area," Weaver said.

Weaver said police departments throughout the state have also been notified of the similarities and told to report any other incidents meeting the description.