Police do not believe there is any link between a report that a man tried to entice a young boy into his vehicle on the NSW Mid North Coast and the suspected abduction of toddler William Tyrrell in a nearby suburb.
The latest incident occurred on Thursday, when a nine-year-old boy told police he was walking along a street at Lake Cathie when a man pulled up beside him in a four-wheel-drive and asked him to get in.
Lake Cathie is about 25 kilometres from Kendall, where three-year-old William disappeared while playing in the yard of his grandmother's home in September last year.
The beachside town is also next to the Queens Lake Conservation Area, where Homicide Squad detectives investigating William's disappearance carried out a three-day search this week.
However, a NSW Police spokesman said there was no suggestion the two cases were linked.
The spokesman said detectives investigating William's disappearance were not involved in the investigation at Lake Cathie.
The nine-year-old boy told police he was walking along Ocean Drive, near the intersection with Ernest Street, about 3.15pm on Thursday when the car pulled up beside him.
The boy told police the male driver asked him to get in, but he refused and ran away.
The boy told his mother, who then called police.
The car was last seen driving south along Ocean Drive.
Police described the man as being aged in his early 40s, tall, and with a grey goatee, while the vehicle was thought to be a new white Toyota four-wheel-drive, possibly a Hilux model, with a canopy, and a blue zig-zag sticker with numbers over the front wheel arch.
The vehicle may have Queensland registration plates decorated with palm trees.
 
Earlier this week, a three-day search through swamps and dense bush failed to recover any evidence that will help police make an arrest in relation to the suspected abduction of William Tyrrell.
More than 30 officers had scoured the Queens Lake Conservation Area between Bonny Hills and Lake Cathie following a tip-off in recent weeks.
Homicide detectives remain confident searches planned in coming weeks will help them find out what happened to William.
Police have urged anyone with information about either case to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
