Hamilton Police are encouraging children to walk in pairs, or with an adult, after a reported incident on the west mountain.
At about 4 p.m. on Thursday, a 13-year-old girl says a man grabbed her hand and tried to get her to leave with him, while she was walking in the area of Mohawk Road West and Southlea Drive.
The girl later reported the incident to police, prompting an investigation.
The suspect is described as a skinny white man in his 50s, approximately five-foot-eight, with a large grey beard.
His skin was “dirty,” and he was wearing a brown hooded sweatshirt, with the hood pulled over his head, ribbed brown or black gloves, dark shorts, white shoes and no socks.
He was smoking cigarettes and was described as having yellow-stained teeth, with a missing front tooth.