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Stranger With Candy Tries To Lure Young Girls In Oz Park

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Oz Park in the Lincoln Park neighborhood is known for its playground equipment, colorful flowers, and whimsical statues of Dorothy and Toto, the Tin Man, the Scarecrow and the Cowardly Lion.

But one day earlier this month, it also apparently attracted a man who set off the stranger danger alarm for two young girls, and the local police district.

Around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday of last week, the 10-year-old girls were jogging during a gym class in the southern part of the park near Dickens Avenue, police said.

As the girls jogged, a man sitting in a black car – possibly a Mercedes Benz – rolled down the window and offered the girls candy, police said.

The man is described as white and in his late 20s or 30s, police said. His face was chubby, and he was wearing a black T-shirt.

Police advise neighbors to be alert, and ask children to walk and play in pairs or with others.

Anyone with information should call Belmont Area police detectives, at (312) 744-8200.

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