Man driving a white van is hunted by police after a string of attempted child abductions in Melbourne
A man is being hunted by police after an 11-year-old boy was approached by a stranger in a white van while walking home from school in Melbourne’s east.
Police have released a computer-generated image of a man they want to speak to in connection with the attempted child abduction in Blackburn at 3.45pm on November 18.
The man, believed to be between 30 and 40 years old, stopped on the wrong side of the road and told the boy that his mother had asked him to give him a ride home.
The boy refused and told his mother what had happened, who reported it to the police.
The 11-year-old’s mother revealed her ‘shocked’ son had locked all the doors to the house when he got home from school.
“He’d never been so panicked before, so there was a bit of shock, a bit of concern trying to work it out [what happened]she said.
“I hate to think what would have happened if he had gone with him.”
Victoria Police have released images of a white man with dirty matte blonde hair and a white van seen in the area before the incident.
Police have released a computer-generated image of a man they want to speak to in connection with the attempted child theft in Blackburn at 3.45pm on November 18 (pictured)
Victoria Police have released images of a white van seen in the area prior to the incident
The man has a “rough sounding voice,” the boy told police.
A 14-year-old girl was forced to flee to a nearby park within a fortnight in a second attempted child abduction in Melbourne.
A stranger pulled up next to her on Spring Street in Tullamarine, in the city’s west, at about 5.45pm on Wednesday, November 27.
The man reportedly asked the girl where she lived before telling her to get into his white van. She ran to a nearby park full of families and he drove away.
On Tuesday, a boy on his way to school at Boronia Heights Primary, in Melbourne’s east, was reportedly approached by a man in a white van.
“Police are investigating after a boy was approached by a man driving a white van in Boronia on December 3,” Victoria Police said.
‘The boy ran away and reported the incident to the police. The investigation is still ongoing.’
Police say the description of the vehicle and the men involved in the second and third incidents do not match.
Anyone with information or views on the incidents is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.