Parlier Police looking for a man who tried to lure two boys into his truck

PARLIER, Calif. (KFSN) -- Parlier police say two young boys avoided being lured into a pickup truck while on their walk to school this morning.

The two boys are brothers, and were on their way to Benavidez Elementary School, when they were stopped and given a strange offer-one they knew better than to accept.

"He rolled down the window and he said 'Do you kids want a cookie and we said no, thank you,'" said seven-year-old Francisco Cortez. "And he said, 'Come on get one,' and then we just ran over here."

Cortez says he was scared when this happened, but told his older brother Anthony to take out his phone and take a picture of the truck as it drove away. They have cell phones to call their mom when they need to be picked up from school, or in case of an emergency on the way there.

They told a school crossing guard and the vice principal called Parlier Police.

"We've all heard the stories of a stranger trying to get a child into his vehicle with some type of lure like candy or cookies or a lost dog, but these children were very smart, ran away the way they were supposed to, went to an adult and the 12 year-old was brave enough and smart enough to take a picture of the vehicle as it was leaving the area," said Parlier Police Officer Jacob Aguilar, the officer who took the report.

The suspect is described as a Hispanic man in his late 20's or early 30's wearing a black beanie and black puffy jacket. The boys say he was loading his bike into the truck, while the truck's driver said nothing.

Police say they're trying to pinpoint the exact make and model of the truck, but say this photo helps their investigation tremendously. Anyone with information about the truck is asked to call them.

Francisco Cortez just asks other kids that walk to school to stay safe.

"I would tell them to stay away from drugs and stay away from crazy people and stay away from a guy in a white truck," Cortez said.

Parlier Police are trying to enhance that photo to get the license plate number. They say they have a couple of good leads they're working on.