Parents of students at one elementary school in Troy are reinforcing a message to their kids to stay away from strangers. This comes after police said a man tried to lure a boy into his car recently. Our Megan Cruz spoke with some parents outside School 16 and has more on the investigation.

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TROY, N.Y. -- Emma Sanders, the parent of 5th and 6th graders says, "It's just kind of shocking, but you have to let your kids be aware that there are people out there that are wanting to hurt them."

And one of those people tried to do just that, here in the vicinity of Collins and Walker Avenues around 6 Friday night. It's just blocks from Public School 16 in Troy.

Troy Police Captain John Cooney explains that the police department, "took a long hard look at this, spoke with our victim, and we truly believe this is credible."

Captain Cooney says a 9-year-old boy had been walking home alone on Collins Avenue when a white caravan-type van pulled up next to him. The driver, described as an "older" white male, called out to the boy and exited the vehicle asking for help trying to find his lost puppy.

Cooney says it was, "At that point, the subject produced a candy bar and invited the child into the car to help him look."

Cooney says the boy refused, threw a stick at the man, and ran home. The driver got away, but the Captain says the boy relayed a lot of detailed information.

"Although an arrest isn't guaranteed, we're going in a strong and positive direction with the investigation," Cooney said.

A letter from the Troy School District was sent home to parents Monday afternoon alerting them to the incident.

Marion Dunleavy, the parent of a 4th grader says, "It's just scary that that's going on in our neighborhood and it just makes me feel like I couldn't let my daughter go anywhere on her own."

Dr. Brian Howard, the Troy School district’s interim superintendent says that, "We want to work with our community so that they're aware of what's going on so we can keep our kids safe."

"They're very good here at the school. This could happen anywhere no matter what you do. You just have to look after your kids," said Ronald Katchmar, the parent of 1st and 4th graders.

Cooney says the man will likely not return, "We rarely find that someone who attempts to commit an act like this returns to the same neighborhood, because they know there's eyes watching them."

But Cooney advises that people use this incident as an opportunity to hammer home age-old advice.

"Strangers are bad. Strangers are a danger."