"It was about 8.30am and she was riding her bike to school and she's been approached by a male offender and he's taken hold of her bike and contained her for some time," Sergeant Peter Turner said. It's understood the man threatened the girl and told her to come with him. Police have declined to go into detail about the interaction due to operational reasons. Police released CCTV footage on Thursday which showed a man wearing a blue top briskly walking away from where the attempted abduction occurred.

Sergeant Turner said investigators had scoured nearby streets for CCTV footage, but were also urging anyone with a dashcam who drove past the area on Wednesday between 8am and 9am to contact police. "As you can imagine she's pretty upset about it and her parents are certainly highly distressed and concerned about what's happened," Sergeant Turner said. CCTV has captured a man appearing to flee the scene after an attempted abduction of a young girl who was riding her bike to school in the city's north-east. Credit:Victoria Police He urged parents to remain vigilant of suspicious activity and said among the most concerning elements of the incident was that it occurred during a busy time of day. "People would have been driving to work and children were getting dropped off at school ... we were out there this morning and there is quite a lot of traffic at that time so we are hoping somebody who drove along there [on Wednesday] has dashcam footage," he said.

"It was a very brazen attack and unusual in nature which is also why it makes it very concerning for us and we are keen to find this man and speak to him as soon as possible." The girl managed to run away from the man and he is then believed to have dropped the bike on the footpath and fled on foot. Investigators are calling for anyone who saw this man in the Mernda area to contact police. Credit:Victoria Police Mernda Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team detectives earlier interviewed a man in relation to the incident but he was later exonerated, police said. Police are also keen to speak to anyone who may have witnessed the incident or anyone who may know the man involved.

The man is described as Caucasian in appearance and aged in his 50s with brown hair. He was wearing a blue top, grey pants, possibly tracksuit pants, and black runners. Anyone with information, who witnessed the incident or who may have noticed any suspicious behaviour in the area is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or file a confidential report online at crimestoppers.com.au