HEATH, Ohio -- Law enforcement in neighboring Central Ohio communities are warning parents after two cases of possible child enticement.
NBC 4's Tom Brockman got the BOTTOM LINE in a crime-watch report.
A child was enticed by a stranger on a Heath quiet street Monday.
Police said a 9-year-old girl was walking her dog on Cynthia Street, in front of Stevenson Elementary, around 6 p.m. when a man pulled into a driveway and blocked her path.
He reportedly offered the girl a ride.
When the child refused, he made a lewd comment and sped away, police said.
"Kids are out and about, and walking and playing at parks, and we have this person driving around and trying to entice children," Heath Police Sgt. Craig Black said.
The suspect was described as a white male with short brown hair. He reportedly was driving a green car with a loud exhaust system.
"Had she gotten in the car, it could have been a really bad situation," Black said.
About two hours later, a 17-year-old female employee leaving Ruby Tuesday's on state Route 79 or Hebron Road said she was attacked in the parking lot.
She said she was grabbed by the throat by a male who fits a similar description.
"He said something to her, was startled by people coming out of the restaurant and fled the scene, Black said.
Although, Newark police thought another possible connected case cropped up Wednesday night, detectives found it wasn't connected in any way to the Heath incidents.
A man approached a 15-year-old girl who was shopping in the CVS pharmacy on West Main Street at about 6 p.m., according to police.
He initiated conversation with the girl and touched her back, police said.
She went to find her mother who was shopping in another spot in CVS.
That alleged crime will be investigated separately by NPD.
Anyone with information was encouraged to call Licking County Crime Stoppers at 740-349-6888.
For additional information on this developing story, stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
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