STITZER, Wis. -- An unsolved assault late Saturday afternoon of a 14-year-old Stitzer girl had residents on alert Monday.

While southwest Wisconsin law enforcement authorities continued their search for a man who assaulted the girl, people in the unincorporated community of less than 100 were being extra vigilant.

"There seems to be a high level of concern," said Harry Reddy, co-owner of Reddy Ag Service. "In a little burg of this size to have something like this occur, a lot of people are very unnerved.

"A lot of people are watching their children much closer than a week ago. The few people I've talked to are very unsettled."

Patsy Heberlein, of Liberty Mutual Insurance in Stitzer, agreed.

"People are taking the extra precautions to look over their shoulders," she said. "I hope somebody saw something so we can put a closure to this and get our peace of mind back."

Deputies say the girl was approached on her parents' property around 5:40 p.m. and then attacked. After a short struggle, during

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which her dress was ripped and she suffered scratches, the girl was able to get away and run into the house. The man fled and was spotted hiding in some weeds before he sprinted for the woods.

The girl told authorities she did not know the man.

The Sheriff's Department was assisted in a land search of the area by several agencies, including canine units from Grant and Richland counties and the Prairie du Chien Police Department, as well as a state of Wisconsin airplane equipped with thermal imaging.

Grant County Sheriff Keith Govier said the surrounding area is not part of an active search at this point. Investigators were interviewing people in the Stitzer area on Monday.

Govier said investigators believe the attack was "very much an isolated" incident.