Police are asking for the public's help with finding a man they said assaulted a woman who was out on her morning walk in Pinecrest early Tuesday morning.

According to Pinecrest Police, officers responded to the reported assault near 13000 SW 69th Ct. in Southwest Miami-Dade around 7:30 a.m. In a message to the neighborhood watch, police said the woman was "walking northbound on SW 69th Ct. when a male on a bicycle came up behind her and grabbed her inappropriately."

Pinecrest Police said in a later press release that the man allegedly approached her from behind, grabbed her in a "bear hug" and touched her inappropriately.

Pinecrest Police Chief Jason Cohen told CBS News Miami that the woman, who was in her 50s, was taking her regular morning walk when the "brazen" assault occurred. The woman immediately cried out for help and was released before the man fled south on his bike.

Pinecrest Police said the woman was not physically hurt during the incident and Cohen said she did exactly what she needed to do to escape.

"The lady was defenseless, and she did an excellent job in the situation," Cohen said.

Police said the man was last seen riding a light blue bicycle and carrying a purple bag with a shoulder strap, wearing a black and white ball cap, blue jeans, a dark colored shirt and shoes. Police added that he abandoned his bike near SW 183rd St. and 77th Ave. about 10 minutes after the incident.

Neighbors who spoke with CBS News Miami said they were troubled by the incident and that they would not have expected anything like this to happen near their homes.

"This is terrible," said Paulo Palma. "That lady must be traumatized."

If anyone recognizes the man or has any information related to the incident, they are asked to contact the Pinecrest Police Detective Bureau at (305) 234-2100 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).