A Whanganui teenager ran home on Sunday terrified after a stranger told her to get in his car.
The 14-year-old was walking along Putiki Drive on Sunday morning when a middle-aged man driving a black SUV pulled over and asked if she wanted a ride, the girl's mother said.
The girl said no, but the man was persistent, the mother said, telling the girl to "get in the car, now" while leaning over to open the door.
"That's when she bolted," the mother said.
The man, who the girl described as "dark" with short, dark hair and a goatee, sped away.