Parents of all children in the Hackensack Public School system were alerted in a robo call about the latest attempt to lure a child into a vehicle.
The most recent incident happened in Hackensack on Monday morning, as a boy was walking to school. Authorities say a white or Hispanic man with a goatee approached him around 7:30 a.m. at Union Street and Lawrence Street and asked for help looking for a lost dog.
The child declined to get in the car, and the man drove off in a two-door black Honda. The student reported the incident to police about an hour later.
Students have been warned to be on high alert when confronted by strangers.
"We always teach students to first of all, not walk up to cars, and secondly to walk away," said Karen Lewis, Hackensack Schools Superintendent.
The boy was able to give police a detailed description of the suspect.
"He's 20 to 30 years of age, white or Hispanic male, possible facial hair. He had black hair spiked, looked like he had gel in it, the child said he spoke in a deep voice," said Niles Malvasia, Hackensack Police Department.
Police have released sketches of three of the suspects, though they believe all the incidents to be unrelated. Still, authorities are warning parents and kids in Hackensack, Leonia, Norwood and Ridgefield Park to remain on high alert for anything suspicious.
In Leonia, investigators are looking into three incidents in the last week.
During one, a 13-year-old girl was approached by a man asking her to show him where the post office was. She told police that she saw another young girl in the back seat who appeared to be scared or upset.
In the other two incidents, sexual comments were yelled at the young victims.
"For a young female to hear that talk, it just shocks you," Leonia Police Chief Tom Rowe said.
No one has been hurt in any of the incidents, and the only thing linking them all is their proximity.
Anyone with information or who experiences a similar incident is asked to call police immediately.
