Palo Alto police on Tuesday searched a section of the Ventura neighborhood for a man who allegedly made a lewd comment to a passing pedestrian and then grabbed her from behind.

Shortly after 2 p.m., a woman called the police to report that she had just been the victim of sexual battery in the 3500 block of El Camino Real, just south of Margarita Avenue. According to the police, the caller said she had been walking southbound on the east side of El Camino when two northbound men walked toward her. After they passed each other, one of the men made a lewd comment to the victim and then grabbed her buttocks.

The woman screamed, ran into a nearby business and told the owner what happened. The owner and the woman then went outside to look for the suspects but could not find them. They called the police, who came to the area but were also unable to spot the two men.

The woman described the man who grabbed her as a white male in his 40s, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing about 200 pounds. She said he had a "ruddy complexion," looked "dirty" in appearance, and was wearing a brown flannel jacket and a dark, square-shaped hat with a small brim. His companion was a white male in his 30s, about 170 to 180 pounds, with blond hair and a mustache.

Police said there had been no other cases of this sort reported recently in Palo Alto.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 650-329-2413, e-mailed anonymous tips to paloalto@tipnow.org or send tips by text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984.