The Turlock Police Department and the Turlock Unified School District are warning parents of a man who tried to pick up two children while they were walking home from school.

The incident was reported to the police department shortly after noon Thursday.

The two children were walking home from the Walnut Elementary Education Center on Walnut Avenue after being dismissed early for parent teacher conferences.

The two children were near the intersection of N. Walnut Avenue and W. Springer Drive, when a car pulled up alongside them and an elderly man offered them a ride home. The man said he had been sent by their parent to pick them up.

The children did not believe the man and were able to get home safely.

The man was described as elderly, white and with a thin build. He was driving a four-door gold Lexus.

No other similar incidents have been reported to the police department or the school district.

TUSD did state on their Facebook page that this is a good reminder for parents “to have a conversation with their student or students about not talking to strangers and avoiding walking alone. If approached by a stranger, encourage students not to panic and to run to a safe location to report the incident.”