A Kurow girl is being praised by police for her actions after a man allegedly attempted to lure her into his vehicle on Tuesday with the promise of seeing puppies.
The incident in the Waitaki Valley township inland from Oamaru took place outside Four Square in Bledisloe St about 6pm when the 11-year-old was out for a walk with her mother and the family dog, Senior Constable Peter Scott, of Kurow, said.
''She has gone for a walk with her mum and their dog to the shops at Kurow. When she has been looking after the dog outside the door, she has been approached by a male that said he has got some puppies in the vehicle and would she like to see them.''
The girl quickly refused the man's approach and immediately ran into the store to tell her mother, he said.
The man was described as in his 60s, of skinny build, with a moustache and wearing a dark beanie, a neon hi-viz jacket, blue jeans and steel-capped boots.
Snr Const Scott said police were reviewing CCTV footage in an effort to identify the man and the vehicle.
He said the girl did the right thing when she fled into the store.
''She has obviously been schooled on how to handle situations she is not comfortable with. She's sought out her mum, which is great and the man has not been seen since.''
Snr Const Scott wanted to speak to the man about the incident to discover what his intentions were and asked anyone who was in the area at the time and might have witnessed the incident to contact police.
-Kurow police (03) 471-4800; Crimestoppers 0800 555-111.
