Police: Man tried to lure 8-year-old girl to school playground

Police are searching for a man who tried to lure an 8-year-old girl to a school playground Saturday night in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side.

The girl was riding her bike about 9:50 p.m. in the 700 block of North Long when the man approached her and said, “Meet by the park, I will be there,” pointing to the park located at Howe Elementary School, according to a community alert from Chicago Police.

The girl then rode her bike home and the man walked away south on Long Avenue and west on Huron Avenue, police said.

The suspect is described as a 35-t- 55-year-old black man, standing between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-9, weighing between 160 and 180 pounds with short black hair, brown eyes and possibly wearing an orange shirt, police said.

Anyone with information on the attempted child luring should call Area North detectives at (312) 744-8200. Anonymous tips can be directed to tipsoft.com.