A young girl has been left traumatised after a stranger demanded she get in his car as she walked home on the last day of the school term.
Police are investigating the attempted abduction of the 11-year-old from the Melbourne suburb of Doncaster East on March 28.
Investigators say the man was driving along Landscape Drive in a grey Audi SUV, when he performed a U-turn and stopped close to the girl.
He then demanded the girl get in his vehicle, but she ran and hid in nearby bushes before her would-be abductor drove away south on Taurus Road.
She sought help from a nearby resident and was not physically injured.
Detective Senior Constable Brooke Miller praised the girl for her quick thinking and described the man’s actions as horrible.
“The girl was terrified, she thought she was going to be taken by this male,” Det Sen Const Miller told reporters on Monday.
“A little girl should feel safe to walk home from school. She had the smarts to run and hide, but she was absolutely terrified.”
Police have released a computer generated image of the suspect, who has tan skin and black hair with a black beard and moustache.
There are two primary schools and a childcare centre in the vicinity of Landscape Drive.
Source: AAP
