KEY POINTS:
Police are appealing for witnesses after a young Tauranga girl on her way to school was approached by a man in a van.
The nine-year-old Matua girl was walking to a friend's house, on the way to school, at 7.30am on Friday.
A male in a van approached her and told her to get inside the vehicle, Tauranga police said.
She ran off and the man drove away.
Police described the van as dark blue, with tinted windows, twin roof racks and shelving units inside.
The man was said to be around 30 years-old, Caucasian, with brown hair and dressed in white overalls.
A light coloured, fluffy dog with a red collar was on the front passenger seat.
- NZPA