The man who abducted a young Palmerston North girl this week is still at large but police are pleased with the amount of information being provided by the public.

The girl, 9, was coerced into a man’s car on Shamrock St and driven around the city for 25 minutes before being dropped off near Our Lady of Lourdes school about 8.30pm on Tuesday.

Though the man did not touch the girl, he spoke to her in an inappropriate manner during the car ride.

Detective Sergeant Gary Milligan said police were following up information from the public to see if it was relevant to the investigation.

“We’ve had a moderate amount of information that we are sifting through. It has been a pleasing response.”

Police would be speaking further with the family of the victim, who was traumatised and distressed by the abduction, he said.

Mr Mulligan said there was still no clear link between the abduction and an attack on a 10-year-old girl near West End School on June 22.

She was walking to school on the corner of Park and Botanical roads when she was accosted by a man who tried to grab her. She got away from him and alerted school staff.

Police patrols have been increased on school routes to deter offenders and provide peace of mind to parents and children.

Senior Constable Emily McMellon, a Youth Education officer, said she would be running the Keeping Ourselves Safe programme at Our Lady of Lourdes next term.

“They were due to have it next term. Most schools do it every two years. It covers those areas with regards to how they can keep themselves safe with both strangers and people that they know.”

Ms McMellon said she was happy to speak with any schools wanting to brush up on the programme.

“If they approach me and they feel like they need that then certainly I’d do it.

“They know me and they know what is available.”

Ms McMellon said she would not be using the abduction as an example during the classes.

“To be honest these incidents aren’t common even though we’ve had a couple in the last few weeks.

“It’s incredibly important that we don’t put a hell of a lot of fear into children. It’s a fine line. We don’t want them to be scared to walk to school.”

Children should never speak to strangers on the street, and parents should always let school staff know if they are sending someone else to pick up their child, she said.

If someone tried to grab a child, Ms McMellon said the best thing the child could do was scream, and run away to find a trustworthy adult.

The Shamrock St abductor was described as a caucasian man in his mid 20s to early 30s with short brown or black hair. He was driving a grey four-door older style vehicle.

Anyone with information can contact Mr Milligan on (06) 3513600 or call Crimestoppers on 0800555111.

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