Butler County sheriff’s investigators are searching for a man who tried to lure a 9-year-old Liberty Twp. boy into his car with the promise of a comic book on Monday. The incident is the third reported child abduction attempt in the county in 10 days.

The 9-year-old and his mother reported to sheriff’s deputies that the boy was walking home around 6 p.m. to Grey Elk Court from a friend’s house on nearby Long Drive when a man in a black vehicle pulled up next to him and got out carrying a comic book.

“The driver called to the boy, asking him if he liked comic books,” according to a sheriff’s report. “The suspect then threw the comic book into the back seat of the car, and told the young boy to go get it, if he wanted it. Instead, the boy began to run toward his home.”

The suspect fled the scene in his vehicle, and is described as a male, possibly in his 20s, wearing a green shirt, brown boots and gloves, according to sheriff’s officials.

Lt. Mike Craft said the incident remains under investigation, and detectives interviewed the 9-year-old and his family again Tuesday. Sheriff’s officials said they don’t think the Liberty Twp. abduction attempt is connected to two reported incidents in Hamilton last week, but they are not going to rule it out just yet.

Hamilton police are investigating two child abduction attempts there that detectives believe may be connected. A 9-year-old girl was nearly abducted by a man in a white van as she was walking along Heathrow Court around 8 p.m. on Jan. 28, and three boys, ages 10, 11 and 13, reported being chased by a man who jumped out of white van on Williams Avenue on Jan. 31.

In both instances, the children were able to escape unharmed. Hamilton police have no suspects in the incidents.

“The unfortunate part is we don’t have a lot of information to go on,” Craft said. “The (9-year-old) boy appeared to be credible; he was terrified. We’re going to assume it’s real and we’re putting out a caution to parents to talk to your kids about being careful.”

Each year, about 58,000 children are abducted by strangers, according to the most recent statistics from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Nearly three-fourths of victims are girls and 38 percent are ages 12 to 14. And about one-third of abductions take place within one-half block of the victim’s home.

Sheriff’s officials did not have data immediately available on the number of abduction attempts in the county in 2012.

The incidents have shaken parents across the county, with many watching their children more closely. The Liberty Twp. boy’s mother — who the Hamilton JournalNews is not identifying — said the small Elk Run subdivision is a “pretty close neighborhood.” She said all the mothers carpool their children to the Lakota school about a mile away.

“My son has about 13 friends in the area, and we’ve never heard of anything like this,” said the mother, who was previously unaware of the incidents in Hamilton. “I tell him what to do when encountering strangers, to run away and find the nearest adult.”

The mother said her son’s walk home Monday night was less than half a block.

“I don’t want to send him outside anymore,” she said. “We will definitely be driving the kids to and from houses now.”

Craft said the sheriff’s office urges families to speak with their children about the dangers of attempts to lure them with bribes of candy, animals or in this case, comic books.

“This is a classic; all kids like comic books,” Craft said. “There’s no question officers will be on high alert in the neighborhoods where this happened.”

Lt. Lance Bunnell — the sheriff’s supervisor overseeing Liberty Twp. — said following the incident, his office has increased patrols in the area, and may also utilize unmarked patrols. He said there are 24 deputies assigned to Liberty Twp.

Bunnell said parents should consider picking up their child, instead of having them walk short distances, or have the child call ahead to let their parents know they are starting their walk.