Police in Florida have released security video showing a 10-year-old girl escaping what they believe was a second attempt to kidnap her in as many days as they search for a suspect.
Authorities said the incidents occurred last Wednesday and Thursday in Fort Lauderdale, about a block away from both an elementary and a middle school.
On Wednesday, a man approached the girl on her way to school and "attempted to lure her by offering candy, money and other items, which she declined," Fort Lauderdale police said.
The man then tried to grab the girl, police said, but she managed to run away.
The girl described the man as driving a black cargo-style van that has sliding doors without windows and may have had damage to the rear light.
The next morning, the man approached the girl again, on foot, while she was on her way to school, police said, adding that she "immediately ran away towards the school and away from the male."
Security video shows the girl running away as the man runs after her before he turns and disappears around a corner, NBC Miami reported.
A passerby stepped in and told the girl to run and alert police just seconds before the girl was recorded sprinting down the sidewalk on video, according to NBC Miami.
Broward County Public Schools officials said the incident was reported to officials at Bennett Elementary School, on the same block where the man approached the girl. Police said the girl is a student at the nearby middle school and did not report the initial incident until after the second one occurred Thursday.
Police described the man as being 30 to 40 years old and 5 feet, 10 inches to 6 feet tall, with receding short brown hair. He was wearing all-black clothes and glasses, police said.
"These incidents are of great concern to us and we need your help finding the person responsible," police said.
